Seeking Arrangements
by imanif
Summary: Darien returns home to find his father's widow and stepdaughter taking over the home he once loved. After discovering that his attraction to Rene, his stepsister, is too strong to ignore, he coaxes her into a mutually beneficial relationship.
1. Chapter 1

It was a fiery day when Darien Brady returned to town. The scorching sun blazed mercilessly over the well-worn road out of the town and into the distant estates. A sleek black BMW flew past Joe's One Stop Shop, a little gathering point converging on acres of fields. The men congregating on the porch chuckled sadly amongst each other. It had been too long.

"Look it, Bill. I ain't never thought tha' he be back after all 'em years," a weather-wrinkled man named Sal said shaking his head.

"Too late is what I say. That boy is too late. But my, who knew all 'em blue bloods would be here for the funeral," Bill chuckled.

"Yessir, I heard Ol' Em was all banked out at the inn. Myself, I never liked the ol' man. Him getting hitched after his wife passed, it ain't right," another man chimed with a thoughtful puff on his corncob pipe.

"Chuck, you is too ol' fashioned. Got to go with the times, and truth is, the man brought us money. Seems like everybody wants to know whur he lived. Especially after that wedding," Sal replied.

"But it ain't right. His wife was a God-fearing woman, real purty to boot," Chuck insisted.

"You just getting yer water hot cause you had your heart set on tha' woman after workin' her yard," Bill chortled, "As for sweets, the new missus ain't too bad neither. And her girl, real nice and sweet. She worked a good time on the fields last harvest during her own break."

"Real nice girl, but now the young Brady. Talkabouta block-a-ice. Boy as tough as rocks after his mother died. Real shame, he used to be so nice," Sal said sadly.

"And now he's back. For the funeral, for the estate, for the money. Wonder what he'll do with the widow and her daughter," Chuck muttered as he relit the pipe.

"I reckon we'll get our answers soon. That boy is as ridiculous as a snake when it comes to being patient."

"Sho'nough. Now the corn price is ridiculous. Man can't get a livin' nowadays on the subsidies Uncle Sam gives," Bill grumbled as the men agreed.

The BMW's driver was as beautiful as his vehicle. With short jet black hair trimmed to perfection, high cheek bones, an aristocratically straight nose, and perfectly-formed black brows, Darien Brady would be classified as gorgeous. However, it was his azure eyes speckled with quicksilver framed with impossibly long eyelashes that made the man seem superhuman in appearance. Once those eyes held warmth and laughter, but recently one could only see shrewd intelligence and calculation blazing in black-blue fire. Occasionally, women of his choosing drowned in the sapphire fire. His tall frame was accentuated with broad shoulders and strong, toned muscles, rippling with potential energy, so that even the spacious luxury car seemed to dwarf with him in it.

Today there was a naked element to his eyes. Grief and anger smoldered as his powerfully lithe body flexed tensely in the car. He drove at an alarming speed toward a place he had vowed to never return to. During incongruous time intervals, memories would flood his senses. His father teaching him to ride a bike while his mother looked on with worry and pride etched in her face. His parents kissing in the foyeras the clock struck 12 on New Years. Then dancing at their annual New Year's party with Darien in their cocoon of arms and legs. His mother's last days. His father's depression. His own anguish and pain.

Shaking his head at the thoughts, he concentrated on the task at hand. He was powerless to bring his parents back to life, but he will not let his parent's treasures and possessions go to some gold-digger and her child.

It was over a year ago when his father had called him, announcing that he was engaged and set to marry. Darien had felt betrayed and shamed by his father. 'How could he just replace mother like that?' When the wedding invitation arrived at his penthouse, he ignored it. When more pleading calls came late at night from his father and close friends, he closed himself off even more. The wedding day came and passed. Darien refused to speak with his father, to send a wedding present, or to show any sign that he was supportive of the union. The silence continued, and now his father was dead.

Part of him regretted the silence yet his pride and stubbornness won over sense. Even in the wake of his passing, Darien couldn't help but to hate his father's second wife. A frown marred his brow as he remembered the trouble he had gone through to get records of the autopsy. A part of him suspected foul play and all fingers were pointed towards the direction of the new widow.

He decelerated when he saw the looming gates. Silently he wondered how he would be able to exact his revenge and avenge his mother's memory. The thought made him shudder slightly in anticipation. Like preparing for a hostile takeover, Darien Brady was ready to confront the enemy and destroy. With his signature smirk, he pressed the intercom button and said in a black silk voice, "Jonathan, I'm home."

Without a hitch, the gates opened and the devil entered the home he once knew but was determined to regain once again.

Rene scratched at her black skirt as she read Shakespeare's Hamlet on her bed. The sunshine spilled through her white curtains and warmed the entire room. Sighing at her current predicament, Rene turned onto her back with the play momentarily forgotten. Today "Young Master Shields" was due to arrive, and she would be forced to meet her stepbrother. As far as she was concerned, the man was an insufferable cad who had no tender feelings for anyone but himself. After watching her stepfather's suffering, she had no intention of liking the young man despite her mother's urging the night before.

"You must try to be nice to him," Ilene pleaded as Rene turned her back on her.

"Mama, you knew how much he hurt his own father! How could I forgive and forget that?"

"George wouldn't want more hate for you or for Darien," her mother continued.

"But you know as well as I that he's here for the money and the estate. He doesn't want to make peace anymore than we do."

"All the same," Ilene insisted, "please just try Rene. You were never one to be rude or hateful."

"Don't be surprised, mama. George treated me like a daughter, and it hurts like hell that his own flesh and blood would do that to him. I refuse to make peace with that… that miserable man until he apologizes to his father for what he has done."

"He is a powerful man, daughter. He may end up hurting you as well if you are not wise."

"I'm ready, mama. George let his emotions for that man get in the way, but I won't. I'll give that bastard everything that I've got. If that's all I can ever give back to George, then it will be enough."

Her mother had sighed then, very much defeated and much too tired to try. Rene had felt bad then, and quickly pulled her into a hug.

"Mama, it'll be alright. I won't let him hurt you or me. He's made his move, and now it's time for me to act."

But what was she supposed to do? She tossed and turned the entire night trying to reason the problem out. The collection of facts in her head seemed to convoluted to be of any use to her, and truthfully, she knew almost nothing of her adversary.

Shaking herself out of the useless thoughts, she sat up and looked hopefully outside. Nothing like sunshine to make one feel better, she thought as she straightened her mourning attire and stepped into black flats. Grabbing the discarded play and an outdoor blanket, she trotted towards the large garden at the back of the estate.

George loved the garden. It had been a project started by his first wife Elena, a woman whose vivacious love for life had earned her a deep respect from everyone in the area. When she died from a horrible case of influenza, the estate itself seemed to have delved into depression. Although her mother's role in George Brady's life certainly revived his passion for living, Rene knew that Ilene had always admired Elena.

Choosing her favorite willow, she put down the blanket. It was really unnecessary as the willow was always her favorite perch with George. They had graced the patch so often that the grass stopped growing there. The thought brought tears to her eyes. She had loved George like a father. She never thought she would be able to, but she had. The knowledge of it made it hurt worse as she finally allowed her grief to rush forth in a torrent of broken sobs and tears.

"Are you alright?" A melodious yet deep voice called out to her.

"I'm fine, but please leave me alone," she replied with a raspy voice and carefully hid her face in her arms as her throat threatened to close completely.

Footsteps moving away from her calmed her some. She hated for others to see her crying. She was never one to thrive on other's pity. Yet she wondered who the man had been. It was most definitely a man, but she failed to recognize the voice. Did he know who she was? Albeit her voice was quite muffled and distorted by the constriction of her throat, but could he tell by the look of her clothes? Of course it could've been Darien Brady, but she could hardly expect him to show concern for anyone else.

Forcing herself to concentrate on her book, she blocked herself from thinking about the funeral, the will, and the adversary. Slowly, she allowed Shakespeare to drag her into a net of betrayal, murder, and tragedy.

The arrival seemed rather dull. The servants performed their tasks effectively and without much fuss. If it wasn't for the betraying looks they sneaked him when he looked away, there would've been no signs of the past year. Two years ago, this could've been me coming to visit Dad for a holiday, Darien thought. He grew up with most of these servants by his side. It was rather awkward now that he hadn't seen them for more than a year. Brushing the sinking coldness of guilt aside, he decided to tour the estates and look for noticeable changes. No doubt the witch had sunk her claws into the splendor of the Brady Estates, he thought angrily as he entered his mother's beloved gardens.

The gardens still looked beautiful and well-kept, but there will something marring its perfection. A broken sound roused him from the serenity. Curious, he tracked the sound to mother's favorite willow.

A brilliance of gold peeked from the green of the willow tree. The figure hiccupped and whimpered as sobs racked the small form. A curtain of gold fell over limbs clad in black. A girl, Darien thought.

"Are you alright?" He blurted before he could think better of it. Somehow the painful cries ate at him.

"I'm fine, but please leave me alone," the small figure answered with residual sobs lingering in her unsteady voice.

Darien wanted to answer, to reply, to do anything that could remove the pain from her voice, but his common sense won and he retreated from the tree. It wasn't until he was a safe distance away could he think logically about the girl under the tree.

Who was she? What was she crying about? Why had he suddenly wanted to save her from her pain?

Telling himself that he was foolish to even stop and disrupt the girl, he strode purposefully toward the stables. The thought of his stallion nearly took his breath away. He had considered moving his stallion, Black, to another stable closer to his home in Chicago where he could ride him without seeing his father, but later decided against it. Instead he hired a stable hand to attend and to handle the stallion daily for the past year.

When he entered the barn, Black sniffed the air in loud puffing gasps, and immediately recognized his master's scent. Pawing the ground in anticipation and eagerness, Black waited impatiently for Darien to make his way to the stall. Nuzzling Darien and nudging at his hands, Black hurried him as Darien readied him for a long overdue ride. Within minutes he was galloping over the lush green hills with his steed panting happily beneath his master's powerful guidance. In that ride, Darien felt the land he loved from such a young age welcome him with wood-scented arms. He knew then that he must have the estate at any cost. He was finally home.

Darien returned sweaty and satisfied. Sweaty because he had a workout better than that of any gyms,' and immensely satisfied because he knew he wouldn't leave the estates again before claiming it and everything in it as completely and solely his.

Kelsey and Jen were chattering gaily in the kitchens as Rene returned from her outdoor perch.

"Hey girls, is Lita in? She promised me some of her killer kookies if I helped out scrub the stove" Rene said as she took a seat on a stool next to them.

"She went to the market for groceries. Said she'll be back before 4 so she can start on dinner," Kelsey commented without much reaction.

"By the way, Rene, have you met Master Shields yet? He came in a little after 1 o'clock today," Jen asked while fiddling with her curly brown hair.

So they were curious, Rene thought. It wasn't a surprise to the mansion's staff what she thought about "the young mastah," and naturally they were waiting to see the battle soon to ensue after their meeting. Rene even heard that they were betting on the outcomes.

"No, I haven't met him yet. And as you must already know, I'm in no hurry to," Rene answered flippantly.

"I haven't seen him for the past year and if I can say, I think he's never looked better," Kelsey giggle as Jen raised a brow at her.

"You're too old for him, my dear. But even I cannot forget what it was like to see Master Darien smile back in the days. He took after his mother a lot…" Jen's voice drifted off as she realized Rene was still sitting and listening to her.

"No, you don't have to stop. I have no concern for the insufferable man, and any piece of information about him will only serve to further my campaign against him." Rene laughed lightly as the two bewildered faces stared at her with saucer-like eyes.

It took her only a fraction of a second longer to realize they were not looking at her, but rather past her. The smile froze on her face as she turned slowly as the blood slowly drained from her face. 'Please don't let it be him…'

"Insufferable, am I?" The man leaning in the doorway smirked as Rene's eyes landed on him.

All the blood that fled her face quickly rushed back as her cheeks took on a bright red flush. Aware of her possibly comical reaction and angered at the honey smoothness of his voice, she ground out with a hard voice alien to the two women with her, "Eavesdropping, are we?"

"Hardly," he replied lightly as he strode across the kitchen towards them. Rene was afraid for a fraction of a second as he strode toward her, his large frame seemed to block the light from the windows.

"And just who are you to make such assumptions about me?" He asked in a husky voice as he bypassed her and went toward the fridge.

Kelsey and Jen were speechless by this point. They could hardly believe that the showdown they were betting on might just be taking place not 2 feet from them.

"You were obviously listening in our conversation, which is very rude," Rene replied flippantly while diverting her eyes from his form-flattering clothes and that sculpted back view…'Stop it!' She scolded herself.

"Stop what?" He asked confused as he turned slightly toward her as he poured himself a glass of juice.

Did she just say that out loud? "Ugh…Stop eavesdropping!" She blurted hoping he would accept the reply.

"I wasn't asking about that in the first place. I want to know why you think I'm insufferable and why you have 'a campaign' against me?" He said slowly as if talking with a five year old.

"How you dare patronize me! I'll tell you who I am. I'm…" Rene growled as she jumped up abruptly from her seat.

"Hey! Y'all wouldn't guess what I got today at the market. Rene! I got a KILLER deal on them strawberries you been beggin' me to buy and … what are you all red and puffed up about?" Lita asked as her extremely country accent went up a notch, "Well why aren't chy'all sayin' anything?" Then slowly she seemed to notice the large body standing by the refrigerator and let out a gasp of realization.

"Oh," she said weakly as her shoulders drooped and the bags of good slid from her limp fingers, "Hello Darien."

"Lita, it has been a while," Darien replied as his dark head nodded to her.

"I reckon I'll be along putting away these groceries 'fore they spoil," she mumbled quietly before shuffling around the kitchen. "If y'all don't mind, I need to start on dinner."

Getting the hint, Rene made moves to exit the room. Her anger had been replaced with curiosity. There was something in Lita's gaze as she first saw Darien that Rene found odd, and she couldn't help but to find herself wanting to know the history in that look. Calling herself foolish and a bunch of other names, she gasped when she felt a large hand close around her wrist.

Eyes narrowing, she looked disdainfully at the hand and then at its owner. "Let me go."

"You never told me who you were," he replied without releasing his grip.

"It doesn't matter. Just understand that I don't like you, and that if you were smart, you wouldn't like me either," she hissed, now desperate to be free from his hold.

Something flickered in Darien's eyes at her words. He wasn't sure whether it is intentional or not, but in that instant he knew who she was. She was right, he thought, if I was any smarter, I would let go of the little tramp and get the hell out of the room. Instead he couldn't help but to let a smug grin pull at his face. "If you were any smarter, you would know not to mess with me… little girl." Satisfied at the rage boiling in his step-sister, he let go of her wrist as if disgusted and gave her a measuring look that seemed to reiterate that she was nothing but a spoiled 10 year old annoying the hell out of a man.

Speechless and hardly able to control herself, Rene stormed out of the kitchen with 4 sets of eyes boring into her back. As she neared the doorway, she thought she heard him speak quietly and what she heard made her even more determined to leave the kitchen without murdering the man.

Darien chuckled as he watched her shake in fury at his words. "Pleasure to meet you, stepsister," he had said to her back, but he knew she would hear him. The thought pleased him immensely. Despite their hate for each other, he knew he was curious about her. Indeed it was her in the garden crying earlier, and Darien was again wondering as to why. Although she didn't admit to recognizing his voice, he had sensed that it had and served to make her only angrier. The thought brought another smirk to his face as he walked leisurely back to his chamber. She had quite a temper, but after all, he was older and more experience with getting a rise out of women.

He frowned at himself. She was a woman despite his earlier insult. Even as he called her a little girl and then gave her a pointed look, he couldn't deny that he hadn't seen the delicate curves and power beneath her mourning attire.

Nevertheless, I must not think of her that way. She made it perfectly clear that she was his enemy, and he was even looking forward to their next clash. Unable to keep the smirk off his lips, he turned on the faucets to the shower and stripped off his clothes. He was barely in the stall before the adjoining door slammed open and a figure welding a baseball bat charged in.

"What the hell?" He yelled as the figure began to beat him with the bat with strong strokes. In a wave of shouts and tangled limbs, Darien managed to pin the assailant underneath his wet body with the now ruined shower curtains tangled between them.

He wasn't sure if he saw her clear blue eyes first or if he felt her soft body shuddering beneath him, but it was unmistakable. He was naked and straddling his stepsister and his proclaimed adversary.

"What are you doing?" They both shouted at the other.

Sighing as he struggled to get his breath back, he tried again.

"Why are you in my bathroom attacking me?"

"This is the bathroom I use! So what are you doing in _my _bathroom taking showers?" She replied with equally uneven breaths.

"I've been using this bathroom since I was 9 so I think I have a little bit of seniority on this issue," he shifted uncomfortably as he realized that his discovery and the struggle had aroused him. That and the fact he's naked and on top of her, his brain whispered.

Cursing under his breath, he pushed off of her while pulling a towel around his waist.

"Now don't you think you should knock when you hear the shower running?" He cocked an eyebrow at her blushing face.

"I didn't know it was you. I just wanted to get whoever was in my bathroom out." Rene's face grew redder as she realized just how bad the situation was. He was straddling her naked and wet and absolutely gorgeous…Don't go there, she told herself.

"By running in and attacking them with a baseball bat. Nice one," he chuckled as he leaned against the marble sink.

"I freaked out," she replied testily as she turned to leave.

"Oh good, you're leaving. I thought you just wanted an excuse to jump in the shower with me," he said lightly as she turned to glare at him.

"Not a chance in the world," she retorted.

"Don't worry. You're lucky I wouldn't waste my time with little spoiled brats barely out of puberty," he replied just as sharply as he shut the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

The crisp air nipped at the strands of hair escaping confinement. Rene was too busy fighting her tears to notice. Her hand clasped tightly in her mothers, and although Ilene seemed as composed as ever, Rene could feel the faint shuddering coursing through her mother's body. In the past week, her mother began to shrink before her very eyes. Her regal poise began to slouch and her bright eyes seemed duller. Her appetite decreased and today in her black suit, Rene had the awful inclination that her mother would be carried away by the wind.

The last flower was dropped within the grave. Darien's hands seemed to hesitate as his fingers contracted and released the white rose. "Goodbye, Daddy," he murmured as a crystal tear fell unnoticed into the grave. When he lifted his head again to the massive crowd in the cemetery, they could see no remorse, no tears. All they saw was a face as hard as granite and a jaw as set still as stone, and then they became afraid.

When Darien returned his place next to Rene, he could feel her eyes on him. Meeting them, he had hoped to see fear in them. Instead he saw pain; a pain that so resembled his own. Surprising the hell out of everyone who knew the tense relationship between them, he closed his hand around hers as they watched the earth cover up the man they had all learned to love.

"Rene? Mr. Simms is waiting for you in the library," Kelsey called from the hall.

"I'm coming. I wanted a moment alone," Rene answered as she fixed her makeup. The funeral had been a final reminder that her stepfather was forever lost to her. And now we will divide his belongings like a pack of scavengers picking up the leftovers.

She made her way to the large room she had often visited. The room was rather packed with most every employee in the mansion and close friends and family attending. Although George never had another child after Darien, he had a twin brother named Matthew whom Rene had never taken a liking to. His daughter, however, was a great friend of Rene, and it was at this sad occasion that she was reunited with the woman.

"Amy!" Rene cried in joy as she spotted Darien's only cousin and ran into her arms. The small woman was a few years older than her and extremely bright but had always been very kind to her.

"Rene, I can't believe this is it. But I guess we should settle down. I hope we will be able to hang out after this meeting. I have missed you Rene!"

"You're always the level-headed one, Amy," Sere whispered as she turned her attention to the front of the room.

Darien was seated in the front of the room with an air of authority in George's leather executive chair. Although Rene couldn't help but to admire the way his angular body exuded power, she felt a sense of rage at his obvious show of possession. Seems he's already staking his claims, she thought inwardly.

Jonathan Simms had been one of George's closest friends. It had been a visit with him to the sleepy little town that had caused George to eventually build his estate here. His death had been a grim reminder that his own life was ticking away. The sight of Darien sitting elegantly grated a bit. Although he had seen Darien grow into a magnificent young man, he had been powerless to protect him from the pain of losing both parents. During the past year of silence between father and son, Jonathan had often been the one to hear George's sighs and pain.

Tucking his thoughts behind his gold-rimmed glasses he cleared his throat in the almost full library. George had been very generous and had made sure his faithful employees and family were provided for.

After a brief introduction, he began.

"Hello friends and family,

Today I am no longer with you, and although it flatters me that you all have cared so much for an old man like myself, I realize that I have an everlasting responsibility to make sure you are well-provided for. You are here today because in some way, shape, or form you have made me a happier man. In the separate letters that Jonathan will give out, you will receive a personal letter for each of you as a last testimony from me to you. I hope that the possessions I have left behind will continue to be a blessing as each of you have been for me and not be a curse to my memory. Although I leave my earthly possessions, I want to wish you all the best.

Love,

George Brady"

As people filed up to receive their letter, Darien remained seated. He had noticed upon arrival that Ilene had not arrived. After the instructions were disclosed and his father's letter read, she still had not shown up. What was she up to? He wondered yet had no one to ask. Spotting Rene who looked as cool and composed as ever, he wondered if he could casually ask where her mother was…would she see through that? Finally rising to his feet so that he could get in the line, he approached her and his cousin Amy who had more beautiful since the last time he had seen her.

"Darien!" Amy exclaimed as she gave him a friendly hug. "You haven't been in touch, dear cousin."

"I've been busy, Amy. I've heard that you have as well. How is Zachary doing?"

Blushing, Amy smiled sadly, "I love him. I had hoped that …"

Darien mumbled something as he brought his arm around Amy and pulled her close. "Dad would have loved to, but I'm afraid you're stuck with me. If I didn't know Zack so well, I would never give you away on your wedding day."

"Thank you, Darien," Amy said thickly as she wiped her blue eyes, a shade lighter than Darien's.

Rene stood silently and a bit awkwardly as Darien transformed from a tyrannical and selfish son to a caring and sensitive man. Slowly her eyes traveled up and met his eyes. Had he known that she was watching him?

Darien's heart skipped a beat as he watched the emotions play across Rene's face. When her eyes met his, he wanted to reach out to her and hold her as he did Amy a minute ago. There was this innocence and vulnerability in her usually cool and professional gaze.

"Serenity…"

Rene whirled around to find Jonathan holding a cream envelope out to her. Grabbing the envelope and holding it close to her, she fled the room with Amy calling out quietly after her and Darien watching her shed tear hit the Persian carpet.

Somehow she found her way to the willow tree where she collapsed in a flurry of black silk and gold hair. Fingering the heavy envelope she wondered what he had written to her. Had he loved her like a daughter? Why did he leave her so soon? Her mother?

She had lost her control momentarily in the library. The combination of Darien's shocking kindness and her name… the name George had always addressed her by had shattered her resolve to remain strong. She let the tears fall and the ground absorb them. With a shattering breath, she opened the envelope praying that the sun will not set until she is done.

Ilene read the letter repeatedly. Her suspicions were correct after all. It had been long since George had mentioned it, and she had always thought it was a joke between them. She sighed again. It would be no trivial matter for his plan to work, but if it did, there would be no stopping it. Like a wildfire, it will spread and consume everything. Silently she wondered if she was willing for her daughter to be caught in this project, a project of a lonely and desperate man that she loved.

"Serenity,

My dear, the past year as I've learned to enjoy the company of laughter and love again in my life, I realized that when I married your mother, I had inexplicably found myself a daughter as well. Some of the circumstances you will find yourself in during the near future will baffle you as well as hurt you, but please understand that I want the best for you. You are a strong young woman with a spirit that can take on the greatest warriors. I am sorry to say this, but my son, Darien, who you have no doubt met and detest but who I love to a dreadful extent, will probably be one of those who tries to hurt you. However, don't be fooled by his callousness for we think alike, and he already enjoys your company far too much that he would like to. For this reason I will leave you some of my best treasures in an unconventional way. I want you to be happy always as you have made me very happy, and it is my only hope that you will be able to find the love I found in my life. With this said, I have made arrangements through Jonathan and the firm to provide you with a guaranteed job. Don't take this as charity. You may work anywhere that you would like, but it would be my utmost honor to have someone as bright and promising as you to work at Brady & Shields. In fact, you'd probably curse me for it after your first month. Secondly, you will share the rights to the estate with Darien. I know this may bother you quite a bit, but hopefully you will understand in the future. I have extended the invitation for your mother to live here as long as she wishes, and I hope that one day you will find as happy a home as I did here. Third there are the stock portfolios for Brady and Shields. I've divided them between you, Darien, and Amy seeing as your mother adamantly advised against giving her any. You will have 30,000 shares, which equates to 35 of my total shares. You may also use the stock freely although it seems beneficial if and when you make it on the board. Lastly, there is my favorite treasure. It is a bit of a secret, and I'm sorry to have not the chance to explain it to you in person. To compensate, I have enclosed audio instructions in this letter in a mini-disc. I love you, my dear. And I hope selfishly to always hold that special place in your heart.

Your loving father,

George"

Losing the last piece of her strength, Rene crumpled and let the grief wash over her in tears of unforgettable pain.

Amy left in her car after giving up looking for Rene. Amy knew she wouldn't be found unless she was ready and decided to leave for town earlier. Darien waited until she had disappeared behind the gate before making his way to the gardens. The letter his father wrote him both relieved and angered him. Although it made all the difference in the world that he had his father's love and forgiveness, he couldn't understand why his father would want to torture him with Rene's constant presence in his life. How could they split the estate? And the shares? And his personal guidance for her? When had he become a babysitter for the girl? Deep down he knew he was lying to himself about both things. Rene would not need a babysitter and she was definitely _not_ a girl. And what was this business with the recorded disc that she possessed? Why would his father want to give something to him but make him get the instructions from Rene?

Although the grief washed over him like waves coming in at high tide, he found his mind to be clear enough to think and to strategize. His goal was to get everything away from Ilene and Rene. Why wasn't he thinking about that instead of if Rene was all right? And why had he suddenly taken her hand today at the funeral? She didn't understand his pain…did she?

Darien found himself standing in front of the willow tree where he first found her. She was sitting under it, engrossed in her letter. Although he heard the telltale hiccups from her sobs, she seemed otherwise as elegant as ever. The setting sun made him body itch to take Black for a ride. A sudden voice broke him from his reverie.

"Why are you here?" Rene asked with an indistinguishable hitch in her voice.

"I came because you have the disc," he replied.

"George did not mention that it belonged to you as well," she replied coolly as she made no move to rise from her seated position. He said nothing

"Why were you crying the day that I came?" Darien asked after a period of silence.

"Because you were coming," she said passively.

Cocking an eyebrow, Darien looked at her challengingly.

"Why do you think I was crying, Sherlock. What am I always crying about?" She snapped as his look weighed heavily on her. She wanted to cringe, to tell him to stop watching her with his studying look.

"Yet you don't always cry. I have a feeling you have rarely cried before dad's death."

"I was crying because I missed your father. I missed a man who I loved as my own father. The memories from this willow brought out pent up tears. Is there anything else you would like to know? Or will you just leave me alone" She answered weakly. She was simply too tired to fight him.

Stepping toward the willow, he took a seat in his designer suit on the bald spot in the grass, a seat very near Rene.

"My father brought you here?" He asked quietly with eyes averted.

"Many times when the weather was pleasant, I was sitting here not 2 weeks ago with him and our favorite books."

"Did he ever tell you about this tree's history?"

"No, he hadn't. But I could tell he loved this tree very much as if it was a person at times," Rene replied with a curious look at him. Although Darien was looking off into the distance, his voice was surprisingly intimate. Rene closed her eyes slightly so she could feel the melodious baritone wash over her in waves of forbidden pleasure.

"My mother's name is Elena Bodet. She came from an aristocratic family from southern California. Her parents were the descendents of French nobles, and they made a fortune in Napa Valley from their wine-making. She met my father while he visited the vineyard after he had shortly gained success at making partner at the investment firm. They fell in love, got married, and had me. My father would do anything to make her smile, to see her laugh. She had a very beautiful laugh and long black hair. When we moved here, she had been sad that there was no garden like at her vineyards. Father helped her start up this one. When everything was complete, she went out and bought a willow tree seedling and planted it here. She would often have picnics with me here and read with my father. This was her sanctuary. She spent many of her last days here. Father saw her in constant pain and carried her out here himself when she asked to be under her willow. She died in his arms here, on this very spot that we're sitting on. My father would soothe me by saying that mother would always be here. He told me the grass won't grow here because my mom was sitting here all day. I love my parents and now they are both gone," his voice had faded to a whisper and when he had finished, Rene did not know what to do.

"Darien?" She whispered softly as she looked up at him with wide eyes.

He looked down at her and saw something he had forgotten that even existed: hope.

Her hair spilled softly onto her shoulders as her rosebud lips pouted in his distress. Unable to control himself and his emotions, he bent down and captured her hair in one hand and her lips with his own. A surprised gasp racked her body as he pulled her closer to him, fitting her to his body. His tongue traced her lips and when she sighed slightly at the feel of him against her, he took his chances and entered the hot recesses of her mouth.

Rene had kissed and been kissed before, but it had never been with a man like Darien. Her cheeks were already heated from the lack of air going to her brain as she returned his ardor with equal force. Her shaking hands moved to Darien's cheek, and the feel of the stubble beneath his skin made her shudder into the kiss.

Slowly she felt his strong hands mapping the curves of her back as they moved smoothly over her black blouse, the heat seeping past the silk. When his hands pressed down harder, with more insistence, throaty moans vibrated from her.

When they broke away for air, he studied her slowly and leisurely with a pair of quicksilver eyes. 'The way a lover would,' she thought. A whirl of thoughts entered into Rene's head, thoughts she desperately blocked when he assaulted her senses with immense pleasure. Darien wanted to destroy her. He hated her and her mother. He just wanted the inheritance. He was her step-brother.

With a broken cry, she lunged away from him as if he was a criminal. She didn't anticipate the coldness seeping through her from the loss of contact, and her reaction made her shudder.

"This isn't right," she choked as she scooted even further from him, half relieved and half disappointed that he hadn't followed her.

He watched her silently with thoughtful eyes, neither encouraging nor protesting the increasing distance between them.

With the letter clasped in one hand and her fingers pressed to her swollen lips, she fled from the willow tree and from her step-brother.


	3. Chapter 3

Just why had he kissed her so recklessly in the garden? 'I was momentarily unstable, and the combination of my attraction and of my grief overwhelmed me in a moment of poor judgment,' he told himself. Yet even as he did, he failed to console himself with the knowledge.

A week had passed since the incident in the garden. Rene had avoided him like the plague and refused to speak to him for any reason. Three days ago, Darien found the disc George left in an envelope slipped under the door. Its contents brought back a torrent of memories buried for the past 20 years.

He had been no older than 5 years old when his father first spoke to him about "the B" yet as he had never seen it in writing, it was not clear if his father meant literally a bee or the letter itself. Either way, it was an important inheritance that he did not want to give up. After listening to the entire message, he was incensed that his father would include Rene in it. This was his birthright, and the thought it being taken away by a gold-digger's daughter did not sit well with him.

It was almost like yesterday when he was walking with his father that George had first told his son the story…

"Darien, one day when you'll be older, I will give to you the Brady family heirloom," George said as he carried young Darien on his shoulders as they moved from each oil painting.

"What's an heirloom?" Darien asked somewhat unsettled by the whimsical hitch in his father's deep voice.

"It's something that every generation of Brady's has and values."

"But what is it, Dad?" Darien asked seriously. Even at a young age, he had no patience for roundabout words and answers.

George's booming laughter broke out as he smiled indulgently at his son.

"When you grow up, and you have earned the heirloom, I will give it to you."

"So it's a job, like yours?" Darien answered.

"Kind of, but there is a story…"

"Tell me the story," Darien had demanded at his chuckling father.

"A few weeks after my fifth birthday, your grandpa told me about the B just like I'm telling you now. He said that I wouldn't be able to get it until I was ready to share it with someone special. When I met your mother many years ago, I had always wondered who he had meant… Soon after, your mother and I found it together, and it's made us very happy. One day you will share it with someone you love too," George said.

"Like my best friend?" Darien asked wide-eyed.

"Yes, she'll be your best friend and more…" George laughed at Darien's wrinkled nose.

"Eww, I'm not sharing it with a girl!" The little boy protested with a look of horror on his face.

"Don't be so sure, son. It is very special. It has belonged in the family for many centuries," George said solemnly.

"How long are centuries?" Darien's small hand held his father's large one firmly as they continued on their walk.

"A long, long time, and I hope it will for even longer… Now your mother said she's made some cookies. You want some, pal?"

"Yeah! Let's go, dad!" Pulling his father along, Darien ran along, forgetting about the B and what it meant for his future.

Darien downed the amber liquid in his decanter with a furious snap of his head. His father left nothing but a series of nonsensical rhymes and riddles as the instructions. Bitterly he wondered if his father shared the B with Irene after his mother's death.

Filling up his glass again, he continued downing the bourbon with relish. His thoughts drifted through the adjoining door between his and Rene's room. What would happen if she was creeping into his room right now wearing nothing more than the silky skin he had only began to explore under the willow. Groaning with the thought, he stumbled towards the bathroom. The water was pounding within, and he swore when he saw that the door was locked.

Stumbling back towards his bed, he collapsed in a heap. What was this attraction surrounding her? Sure he hadn't been as active as he had back in the city, but he hadn't needed a woman as much as he had now. Letting a groan of frustration and need rack through his body he began to discard the slacks and t-shirt he was wearing. His chest rose sharply as he felt his body burning. What was wrong with him? Instead of answers, only bursts of fantasies emerged before his eyes… his large hands roaming over tan skin and taunt muscles. A cascade of hair snared within his hands and her hands exploring him with just as much hunger. Something wasn't right, his mind shouted, but his body was too caught in the sexual frustration to notice. He groaned again when he almost felt her mouth on him, trapping him in a wave of desire.

His eyes shut as his body hungered and ached, and when he wanted to scream in anguish at the torture she making him endure, his eyes snapped open at the feeling of a warm hand on his brow.

She stood there with her mouth moving and her eyes wide and worried, but he could only focus on the luscious pout of her rosebud lips begging for his kiss. With a growl escaping the back of his throat, his arm twisted suddenly against her towel-clad waist and pulled her down to him before covering her cry of shock with his mouth.

The murmur of surprise changed to a small moan as his tongue shot into her mouth. While one hand held her to him by a firm grip on her wet hair, the other one began to delve beneath the daffodil yellow towel.

Slowly he felt her soften against him as her tongue stroked his with equal ardor and need. Her towel hung askew against her moist skin and within seconds, he had pulled it off of her.

A low groan rumbled in his chest as he indulgently perused the glow of her skin in the moonlight. The graceful curve of her back and lower… with a groan he pulled her to him again for another drugging kiss. This time she teased him by running her small hands over his overheated skin before sinking them in his thick hair and slowly massaging his scalp.

Reluctantly breaking from the kiss, he planted kisses along her jaw, leading the way to her earlobe.

"Darien," she moaned when he sucked on her earlobe in between breathy whispers meant only for the ears of a lover.

Faintly the series of events that landed her into her current position began to piece themselves together even as her hands sank further down his hard chest and abs.

She had barely stepped out the shower when a low and almost painful sound alerted her from her silent reverie. She knocked on Darien's door half-annoyed and half-concerned. When he groaned again in an unintentional answer, she opened the door only to find him writhing on the bed in a feverish state. His muscular body gleaming with sweat as his limbs tangled in the sheets. She blushed…if she hadn't known better, she would've thought him to be in bed with someone else.

Making her way cautiously to the bed while calling out his name to try and wake him, she started feeling the effect on her as well. He was utterly naked although the lower half of his anatomy was mostly tangled up by the satin sheets.

"Darien, wake up! I think you have a fever. What happened?" She asked him while putting a hand to his hot forehead. When his eyes snapped open, she repeated her questions again, but when he pulled her down to him, all coherent thoughts fled her mind and she could only sink into the fire.

Faintly she realized that she was pressed against him with nothing between their bodies, but it was the realization that she loved it that drenched her with cold reality. Breaking away from him and pushing away the hand at the back of her thigh, she fought to control the passion consuming them both.

"What are we doing? We can't do this!" She hissed.

As if the cloud of lust in Darien's azure eyes somewhat lifted, he looked at her before stumbling out of the bed. In his haste to distance himself from her, he left the sheet on the bed leaving him naked and aroused.

"What are you doing in here if that wasn't what you wanted?" He sneered as he averted his eyes from the tempting sight that she made. Hair mussed and shining against her smooth skin, she perched on the bed with the sheet covering her up but leaving too much for the imagination.

"Well what was I supposed to do when I hear you screaming down the house? I saw that you were feverish and I was just making sure you were okay!" She retorted as she refused to look at him. She had felt him moments ago, but the picture of his magnificent body standing in such a proud and confident manner made her even hungrier for him.

"I'm sorry I had worried you. I wasn't feeling well," he said somewhat more casually as he strutted to the closet to pull on a silk robe.

"Are you alright now?"

Letting out a chuckle in light of her apparent naïve question and his own pent-up frustration, he replied a simple, "I don't think so."

"So what's wrong with you?" She asked making the temporary mistake of looking at him. The robe hid nothing of his apparently virile body.

Blushing madly again, she resorted to anger. "We're practically related. Isn't this kind of incestuous?"

"There's no blood relation and barely any friendship. Besides, we both want this," he said as he unintentionally approached the bed.

"No, you're wrong. I don't want to get jumped by a stubborn, spoiled brat like you," she spat as she mustered all her hatred against him.

Darien's eyes narrowed as he pinned her swiftly against the bed with a sweeping motion. Squirming, Rene pushed against him when the action only made Darien groan deeply.

"Look Rene, I don't like you or your mother either, but I sure as hell like what you do to me. In my world, I separate business and pleasure. For the sake of both our sanities, why don't we come to a little agreement?" He nuzzled the hollow of her neck and barely caught the sound of a whimper before she forced it back again. Chuckling he proceeded to assault the spot on her neck that he had recently discovered to be very sensitive to his ministrations.

"What sort of agreement?" She choked back another passionate sob.

"That we adopt a double world. When we're discussing family matters, we'll be all business with all the hate we have for each other driving us on. But at nights, at nights, my darling, we will belong to each other and to this fire that's burning us alive."

Darien moved to her collarbone and lower before bending over her heaving chest.

"What do you say, Rene? Do you accept?" He breathed hotly over her sensitive skin.

"Darien," she moaned.

"I need to you say it. Say that you accept my terms." His hand flexed slightly over her soft skin and her body drew tightly.

"I… Darien…Please" She gasped when he increased the pressure of his hand.

"Say the words, princess."

"I want you, Darien. I accept. I want this…" Her replies turned into incoherent moans and gasps as he rewarded her with hot caresses. 'Even when we hate each other so much, I find myself wanting to feel so desired and wanted by you,' Rene thought as waves of pleasure washed over her.

When he felt her silky muscles tighten around his fingers, he captured her in a kiss that swallowed the loud moan that announced her ecstasy.

Slowly giving her time to ride the aftereffects of passion, he pulled her to him. Her eyes fluttered open revealing twin orbs reflecting surprise and wonder.

"I need to know how far you've gone before we go further," he said heavily as he noted the telltale signs of her innocence. He had wondered when he had measured her with his fingers earlier and the signs weren't looking good for him.

"That's about as far as I've gone before, but I hadn't ever… that was the first time I felt like that," she mumbled as she tried to turn away from him in her embarrassment.

Somehow Darien couldn't help but to feel elated at the news. The thought of another man making her moan and shudder brought a frown to his face, but her limited experience meant that he couldn't bed her.

'Well, I could. If she wanted me to, and heck, if I wasn't practically related to her like she said, I would within the second,' Darien thought. He was no fool. There was another reason pushing for this particular arrangement. On some level this was revenge, and although Darien didn't want to hurt the girl, he was aware that there was a definite risk.

"Oh, I see. Are you rescinding your offer?" Rene snapped as she began to sit up. She suddenly felt self-conscious and angry. The insufferable man managed to set her on fire and was now just as easily ignoring her! Not to much it was somewhat disarming that he was naked and those strong hands had just brought her to the verge of passionate tears. 'Oh God help me! I should leave right now. This was never meant to be. This won't go anywhere. All he wants is a fuck-buddy and a fool, and I'm no body's fool.'

"I'm doing nothing of the sort. I was just thinking," he said softly as he wrapped an arm around her waist. She protested weakly before letting it rest there. 'Why can't I resist him even when I know that this goes against everything I believe? I have morals and standards. I hate him, but then again why is there strong attraction between us? The man could just look at me and I'd be all up on him…That feels so damn good.'

A moan escaped her parted lips as Darien planted kisses along her shoulder and the back of her neck. His large hand splayed leisurely over her waist and moved in a lazy pattern.

"We have plenty of time," he murmured. 'Plenty of time before I complete my revenge…'

"Thank you, Darien." Rene sighed softly as she let him pull her into his arms. 'Maybe he's not really showing me who he really is…yet. That's right. I'll give him sometime, at least on nights like these. What's there to lose? And what better way to keep my enemies closer than this?'

They drifted asleep together both with smiles on their faces, albeit for very different reasons.


	4. Chapter 4

Head pounding and eyes blurry, only one thing came to mind. 'Must get Advil…'

As Darien's arm leaned over to search for relief in his night-table drawer, his arm brushed over something soft and silky.

'What the…?' His mind whispered as soon as he popped a few miracle pills into his dry mouth.

'What the hell was I drinking last night?' He blinked a few times and the startling image that began to weave around him nearly took his breath away.

Rene slept on her stomach, facing him. Somehow one silky thigh had wedged its way between his legs, his very naked legs. Her mussed hair making her glow radiantly almost making him want to shade his eyes. Settling back into the sheets, he took several deep gulps of air.

Scenes from last night replayed themselves in his head, and he carefully weighed his options. As much as he enjoyed the feel of her trapped between him, there was something that was off about last night…

'Something wasn't right, his mind shouted, but his body was too caught in the sexual frustration to notice.'

But now with a clearer mind, he went over the sequence of events that led him to his current predicament. With the sharp precision that came naturally to him, he disengaged himself from the tangle of limbs and stalked to his desk.

"Son of a gun," he muttered as he picked up the bourbon. It had been a birthday gift from Jay, and he hadn't the opportunity to drink it until last night. Jay's penchant for the strongest liquor was often the dinner table topic among the boys, and up until last night Darien didn't have a need for a hard drink. Cursing to himself, he picked up his cell phone and speed dialed Jay in Chicago.

A tired-sounding woman answered testily, "Yes?"

"Raye, would you mind putting Jay on the phone?"

"Geez dumbass, do you have any idea what time it is?" She sounded a bit more awake and extremely pissed. 'Good, I want the bastard to suffer,' Darien thought smugly,

A loud cry of protest and pain howled on the line. 'Raye did always possess a creative talent in waking people up,' Darien smirked as he remembered the time Raye nearly poked Jay through with a spoon when they overslept for work.

"Man, what could you possibly want with me at 4 in the morning?" Jay's voice filtered through the phone. Darien could hear harsh whispers in the back from a tired and grouchy Raye.

"What the hell was in that bourbon you gave me?" Darien said harshly, momentarily forgetting that he was still in the same room as Rene.

"Bourbon? What bourbon… Holy shit! Raye, you got to hear this. Dipshit here finally drank that bourbon!" Darien could only listen futilely as laughter erupted from the other side of the line.

"Let me talk to him…" Raye must have pried the phone from her laughing husband because her artificially sweet voice came over the line.

"Now Darien, don't get mad. We knew you like it really hard, so it seemed the perfect gift! Besides, don't you remember that arousing conversation after dinner that day at our house?"

Darien frowned as he tried to think back to that night at Jay and Raye Dwight's place over seven months ago…

Blast to the past

The boys were anteing up for another round of hold 'em as Raye and Malcolm's new item, Mina Corbin, sat chatting in front of the TV. Darien looked contentedly at his circle of friends who have grown from boyhood to adulthood together. If it wasn't for their unconditional support during the aftermath of his mother's death and his father's remarriage, Darien wouldn't be as happy as he now. These were the men who understood him like a part of themselves.

'O shit,' he thought as Malcolm gave that little half smirk of his. Darien didn't even know why they even bothered playing poker when they could all read each other like an open book.

"All right, screw this," Kevin groaned as he folded.

"With all the beer you've drank tonight, you're probably handicapped," Malcolm smirked as his glaring friend. Giggles erupted from the ladies, and Kevin's flush went up another notch.

"Pshhh, I ain't a grasshopper like ya'll little boys. I know how to handle myself just like I know how to handle my liquor," Kevin rebuffed, slightly miffed by the obvious barb right in front of the girls.

"So is it true? Do guys find it hard to perform after getting piss drunk?" Mina asked joining Malcolm at the table.

"This calls for a little experiment, me thinks," Zach pondered as he scratched his chin.

The men all groaned in unison.

"He's thinking again. Quick, somebody pour the man some more drink!" Jay cried in mock alarm.

"Personally, Mina, I've never experienced problems 'performing' under the influence. If you would like a personal consultation, I'd be happy to oblige," Darien said as he winked at the blushing blonde. Malcolm looked practically livid as he immediately wrapped a possessive arm around her waist.

"Darien, although you may still perform well now, if you don't stop making eyes at my girl, you might find yourself lacking some of the necessary equipment," Malcolm retorted testily.

The guys laughed easily at the furiously red Mina and a protective Malcolm. It was obvious that Malcolm had strong feelings for the curvaceous blonde.

"Wouldn't it be nice to have an insurance built into the drink?" Raye winked suggestively.

Eyebrows rose at her, including Jay's. She shrugged indifferently as if brushing mental lint off before continuing.

"Besides, what if it not only guaranteed against system malfunctions, but also greases the machine up a bit. Like an aphrodisiac," she sipped at her Coke innocently.

"You're brilliant, Raye!" Zach burst into applause. "That's some food for thought. There's a great potential in this!"

"Zach's right. Heck, if it really works, and I'd have to see it for myself, I'm sure I can finance the endeavor," Darien chuckled at the almost giddy excitement on Zach's face.

"Someday Darien, I'll take you up on that…" Raye replied thoughtfully as she walked to her husband.

"Meanwhile, we need to get Zach a girlfriend. He's probably going to wet himself with the excitement!" Jay teased as he caught the glint in his wife's eyes.

"Genius is never appreciated…" Zach muttered as the group returned to the cards.

Back to the present

"Oh shit!" Darien muttered, "So he actually did it!"

"Did you have any doubt? When has Zach ever not finished a project, and how come it took you so long to test-drive it? It's been ready for months," Raye reprimanded.

"All right, I surrender. I was just pissed that the bourbon made me do something pretty rash last night…"

"You dirty ho! You got with one of those country bumpkins, didn't you?" Jay accused from the background.

"No, I did not," Darien replied as he looked at the sleeping Rene on his bed, "I got with someone very different all together. Although I can't say that I'm not pleased with the result, it's going to make things a bit complicated."

"Did you get with your step-mother?!" Jay shouted into the earpiece.

"WHAT?!" Darien roared along with Raye.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded as he listened to Raye yell various other names to him.

"I mean… isn't that like a kinky Oedipal complex or something?" Jay's voice faltered as Raye was no doubt clobbering him with something.

Suddenly aware that he likely just woke up the house, Darien pushed a hand through his hair and calmed down some. 'Surely he was making a sick joke…Who are you to talk? You're with your step-sister for crying out loud!'

"Okay, I've had enough. Have a nice day, Raye."

"Darien, take it easy. Just call if you need us," Raye said.

"Preferably during normal business hours, if you don't mind," Jay added faintly.

"Thanks, I will, RAYE," Darien pointed ignored Jay.

"I swear, you boys are just babies sometimes! Bye, Darien!"

Smiling faintly, Darien looked back at Rene. He was happy with the result. He had a gorgeous, and naked, girl on his bed, and she was the key to his ultimate revenge. Yet even as he watched her, he wondered how long she could withstand his offense before surrendering to his terms. The estate was his and the stocks should be his, hell even the brooms in the closet are his. And then there was the infamous B and that certainly belonged to him and to the person of his choosing, not of his father's choice. If she didn't have to look so delicate and fragile in her sleep, he would have no regrets in the plans that were already forming in his mind.

Shaking slightly, he found himself reaching out to caress her cheek. When he realized his actions, he pulled his hand away and grabbed a towel. It wouldn't do to get too attached to her. She was a temporary fling and a ladder to carry him to his destination. End of discussion.

Stalking into the shower, he blasted the water on his suddenly heated body. For a moment between the droplets striking his body, he was afraid of her and of the power she had possessed over him in such short period of time. When he knew that she wouldn't be able to resist him as long as he was touching her with his eyes or his hands, he didn't expect the effect to be reversible. Then the moment was lost, and his heart-rate returned to normal. He had the upper-hand after all. She knew practically nothing about seduction and manipulation while he could write the book on it after being with so many of those types of women.

'I will win,' he thought even as he returned to his room to find the bed empty and her scent lingering in the air.

"Matthew, what a surprise! Amy said you weren't well for the reading of the will. Are you feeling better?" Ilene asked nervously.

Perched on the edge of the settee in the drawing room, she sensed something was off about Matthew Brady's presence on the estate.

Although twins, the carriage and characteristics of the two brothers varied greatly. George held himself confidently and comfortably while Matthew's shoulders were slightly bowed and reserved.

"I'm well now. Amy has been up here, has she not?" Matthew sounded quite like George, but the difference in character showed even in intonation of speech.

"She is still in town, I believe. Her medical career is blossoming wonderfully," Ilene replied politely even as she wanted to order him to leave. 'What impossible thoughts I've been having lately…'

"She is a bright girl. Her mother was very brilliant as well."

They sat in uncomfortable silence.

"I don't have the will documents. Mr. Simms is handling all of that," Ilene said as he continued watching her.

"That's not the reason I'm here."

No excuse. No explanation. Warning bells were ringing in her head. She wanted to run away, but she felt so tired. Too tired to care anymore. Was this what they meant about wives passing away soon after their beloved? She wanted rest and peace. She nodded to herself. She would've been ready for anything else than what he said next to her.

"I came because I'm asking you to marry me." His voice sounded hollow.

Ilene wanted to scream. A rising trill of panic raced through her system.

"Why on earth would you want to marry me?"

"You need protection. If you do not marry me, then I cannot protect you."

"Protection from what? This isn't the dark ages," she protested shrilly.

"The same person who killed George will come for you and for Rene."

"George? Killed? You must be mad! The autopsy, the police said a massive heart attack. I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but I'm not going along with it!" She had risen to her unsteady feet moving slowly to the door.

"Darien will kill you. I am the only one who can protect one you care for most."

His voice was low and laced with threats, making her shiver.

His hand was now on her shoulder, preventing her from leaving the room. She could shout for Jen, Lita, anyone, and yet she stood still letting the warmth seep through her blouse. She shivered again under the firm hold he had on her.

"Why would Darien do such a thing to his own father? And how would you know about this without telling the police?" She tried to keep her voice from quivering.

"After Darien's involvement with the firm, they've been involved in a number of mafia-related activities. Although his troubles with George stemmed from your marriage, he knew that eventually they would clash on the future of the company. I didn't go to the police since they have double agents everywhere. They covered up George's real death, didn't they?" The hand slightly caressed her shoulder, and it brought her out of her reverie. Snatching her shoulder away from him, she glared at him.

"Why should I believe what you say? You were always jealous of George," she felt a momentary victory when she saw the tick in his jaw deepen. She had hit a nerve.

"Your daughter's life depends on it. Darien will probably seduce her like the snake he is and then crush her heart. His final act of revenge will be her death. If I understand him correctly, you'll be there watching her. After all, it was you who married his precious father." A small grin tugged at his mouth and Ilene wanted to slap him for this display of cruelty.

'What should I believe? Could it be true? Does Darien hate us that much?'

"You still haven't told me how you came to be privy to all this information," she countered with a calm she didn't feel.

"He wanted me to help… I know you've never liked me much compared to George, but this is the only thing I've thought up to help you."

"I need to think about this," she turned to leave when he caught her right hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

"Time is a luxury you cannot afford, Ilene."

"You are a pathetic excuse for a human being. As if I would ever marry you! I said this wasn't the dark ages, and you can get the hell off the property." Slamming the door behind her she ran to her room and let the grief, confusion, and fear wash over her. She had no more tears. She needed to protect herself and Rene. Now Ilene just needed to find out exactly who was after them.

Rene dressed slowly after enduring a long hot shower. She woke up in an unfamiliar bed with an unfamiliar man experiencing unfamiliar feelings. She had heard Darien's conversation on the phone. It made her blush in slight indignation when he alluded to her as an outcome of his rash actions. She wondered at the bourbon that he had mentioned. Was that what caused him to almost attack her last night? And what was she thinking going along with him, with this whole scheme? She wasn't looking for a fling and especially not one with her step-brother.

'I decided to go along with it because I want to get to know him better, and not in that gushy sense. I need to familiarize myself with him so that I can use his vulnerabilities against him should he try and oust mama or me. Yeah, that's why I went along with it…' Her brain improvised, feeling pleased with itself at the excellent psychological analysis it procured.

'Pshhh, yeah, right brainiac! A guy like Darien touching you like you are the only woman on Earth, offering you things… I mean, even an ice princess wouldn't be able to resist. Plus, he wanted you!' That blood pumping organ sighed dreamily.

So he was pleased with the decision made on a whim, but why had he come so close to touching her in a tender way this morning and then practically running out of the room? The man was an enigma, a mystery, and he just had to be so freaking hot!

Groaning, she slapped herself mentally. 'Hey, remember the arrangement? We're only supposed to be together at night, and during the day we still hate each other!' Her brain shouted.

'Oh, yeah? Well, why don't you explain why you can't hate him especially since every time you look at him, you see the different side he showed you under the willow,' her heart retorted.

'He was probably stringing you along for the hell of it. He doesn't care about you, and he made that perfectly clear last night. And just because the man's hot as hell doesn't mean he's not a world-class jerk and man-whore!' The brain replied.

'Ugh! Why don't you go release some serotonin and just be happy? Aren't you tired of being a prude? Don't you want some excitement? Just because you like Darien's body and the way he really looks at you, doesn't mean you have to like him. Keep them separate like he said. Just grow up and take this like a woman, and it's not like you'll ever get the chance to do this ever again. Now go away because I'm too busy lusting after Adonis to pay any more attention to you!' The heart shouted angrily.

'HEY! HELLO?! Stop having an internal battle and FEED ME!' Rene's stomach lurched, and practically pulled her to the kitchen.

"Hey Lita!" Rene exclaimed as she burst into the kitchen, happy to be talking to another real person.

"Mornin' Rene. What's crackin?" Lita mock curtsied as she worked on her latest culinary masterpiece.

"Not much. Just looking to stuff my face, you know, the usual," Rene replied cheekily as she sniffed around Lita's work.

"It ain't ready yet. Don't chya dare spoil my dinner truffles! Rene! I mean' what I said! Hey, gimme that spatula! Don't you dare dip that in the soup! I don't believe my eyes! Lord have mercy on yo' soul 'cuz I am SO gonna tear you a new one!" Lita began to full out chase Rene around the large kitchen even as Rene licked the chocolate fondue from the spatula and sticking her tongue out at a fuming Lita.

"Aw, Lita. You're no fun. I'm not asking for much. Just lots of food…" Rene salivated and sighed at the sight of a jar of Nutella and bread. "Oh SNAP! You bought Nutella, and you didn't even tell me? Guess I'll have to dock your vacation days so you can bake me lots of pie to make up for lost eating time…" Rene giggled evilly.

"Rene! Just you wait for your dinner t'night. Wait til you find the surprises I've cooked up for you!" Lita replied loftily as the door opened to reveal a tired-looking Jen.

Forgetting about taunting Lita, Rene dropped the spatula into the sink and immediately approached Jen.

"What's the matter, Jen? Are you all right?" Rene asked softly of the woman who had taken a seat at the informal table and buried her face in her hands.

"Rene, I've been tending your mother. Matthew stopped by earlier to see Ilene, and whatever he said to her really upset her. I came down to get her some chamomile tea…She has that far-off look in her eyes," Jen finished with a sigh.

"Where is she? I'll go see to her. Please go rest Jen," Rene nodded to Lita who was already putting a teapot on a tray for her.

"She's in the master suite sitting at the bay window. I fear for her health, Rene."

"I fear as well." Rene met Jen's sincere eyes for a moment only to be interrupted by the siren of the teapot.

Like a warning bell or the beating of war drums, something within Rene told her that a bigger scheme than she could imagine was unfolding around her. Like a miniscule fish, she would be swept along the current of uncontrollable fate. Taking the tea tray, she made the way to Ilene's room.


	5. Chapter 5

Darien had just returned from a mid-afternoon ride when he saw that he missed an onslaught of calls from Nathan Phelite, the VP of mergers and acquisitions at Brady & Shields. Knowing it wouldn't be good news, he returned the call as he walked back toward the mansion in long strides.

"Thank God I've found you Darien! It's getting bad on this end. You may need to cut your time short in paradise," Nathan said almost immediately after picking up.

"Give me the really shitty news first," Darien sighed.

"Damon Shields was caught in a very compromising position with a minor and the story was leaked to the press today. Our investors are calling for stability as stock has been fluctuating like a toilet today. Some want him out, especially Jack Martin of JM Inc whose daughter is the aforementioned minor. We really need your leadership, Darien."

Darien's teeth gritted. Things were moving faster than he anticipated. There was still so much to do here at the estate yet he couldn't abandon the company… the decision was instantaneous.

"How soon can you get me on a flight? I want to leave within 4 hours and make it in time for tomorrow's early edition."

"I'll get on it. I'll fax it to you within 15 minutes," Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. Now that there was a direction, he could take control. Things were going back to normal. Another question plagued his mind, and Nathan fought for the courage to voice it.

"Darien… Have you seen her?"

"Yes, I have," Darien's voice softened a bit as he heard the long sigh over the line.

"How is she, Darien?"

"She is well. She still taking care of herself," Darien replied. Nathan's heart sang for a moment as his meaning became clear. 'She's still single. Could she still be waiting for me?'

Clearing his throat, Darien continued.

"Get Public Relations ready by the time I arrive tonight and track Damon down for tomorrow. If I talk to him tonight I'd kill whatever ego he has left. See you soon, Nate," Darien's voice clicked out. Nathan began issuing orders with rapid ease. Most people had to learn how to lead, but Darien was born to be a leader. Unlike Nate who has been taking orders from others ever since he was a child. He didn't think it was possible to be any different until he met her. This wondrous creation of creamy skin and fiery independence had shown him that he could lead his own life. And then he had ruined it. 'How pathetic I have become without you…'

Pushing his private thoughts to the recesses of his mind, he suppressed a smile. Perhaps he could sleep better tonight with a wish that she was still in love with him.

Throwing together an overnight bag with essentials and his laptop, Darien charged his phone and waited for the faxed flight information. Silently, at the back of his mind, he wanted to find Rene and tell her that he had to leave for business immediately. 'Wouldn't want to piss her off before I even started getting down to business,' he told himself even though he was dying to see one of those her million watt smiles she seemed to give everyone except him. Would she think that he was running out on her? Perhaps he was…either way him leaving was inescapable. Damon had really screwed up this time.

He went to her door and knocked, receiving no response. 'Where was she?'

Pacing a bit, he turned back to his room at the sound of the fax machine going off. Playing on the safe side, he wrote her a short note.

Rene,

Business emergencies take precedence, but when I return we shall begin our arrangement… as long as you haven't changed your mind.

In anticipation,

Darien

He was in the process of stuffing it in an envelope when he heard sounds coming from her room. Walking stealthily to the adjoining door through the bathroom, he came up from behind her as she was slipping into jogging shorts, opting to surprise her rather than to knock. The glimpse of satin skin and lacy underwear made his breath shorten.

"Going out?" His brain reminded him that he needed to catch a flight within 30 minutes as he eyed the nearby bed thoughtfully.

"For a jog," she replied lightly, brushing off the warmth of his breath on her shoulder.

"I need to leave for Chicago, but I will be back. We have unfinished business between us," he ran a finger across her shoulder blades.

"Take your time," she said harshly still wrestling with the fact that she was supposed to hate him. 'Oh god, I had never hated anyone before. Not even when Patty Baum stole my boyfriend years ago, but I mean, compared to Darien, Jake was not even a man! Who knew actually hating someone was so hard? Especially when they kiss like Darien and have this dangerous allure surrounding him… Remember what mama told you? I'm an adult, and if I want to have a semi-affair with my step-brother than I can do so! God I am such a loser. Man, I wish I could go with him…SAY WHAT?' Shaking her head at another one of those internal battles, she added "We have no obligation to each other."

"Correct, but I do have a claim over you." He swung her around to face him.

"Which is?" Her elegant brow arched teasingly at him. "If I remember correctly, a term to the arrangement is that we are only together at night. Five in the afternoon hardly constitutes…"

His lips interrupted her with a kiss.

'Okay, so he does have complete control over me,' her brain murmured as neural signals flooded the sensory organs.

'If only I could make him react just as much…' her body whispered. A pleasant thought entered her mind. She has a claim over his body too. The tightening of his body right now was absolute proof of it.

'Haha, revenge is sweet,' she gloated as she stretched herself to match his entire length. The feeling of him from her head to her toes brought a smile to the kiss. The deep guttural groan from Darien didn't dampen things either.

Pulling away, he glanced at his wristwatch.

"Smile for me, Rene," he asked gently and with a blush, she did rather shyly.

"Damn, I got to go," he said apologetically. He gave her one last smoldering kiss before disappearing to his room. Rene was so busy catching her breath that she didn't notice the cream envelope resting against her pillow until she sat limply on her bed and turned on the radio. So many things had transpired this afternoon…

Ilene had been despondent and even secretive when Rene asked her what Matthew had wanted. Her mother had only shown interest in the conversation when Rene spoke briefly about Darien…

Flashing back

Rene was frustrated with the lack of response from her mother when she muttered, "Matthew's probably just like Darien; they're both difficult as hell."

Ilene's head snapped up and her eyes narrowed.

"About Darien, how is he doing recently? I noticed that you haven't spoken to him for quite a few days now." Her eyes stared steadily at Rene with an unidentifiable gleam in them.

Rene blushed at her mother's statement. How true that would have been if she was having this conversation yesterday! "He's as horrible as ever, I imagine. He seems unable to say anything nice to me." That was at least half true.

"I know I had begged you earlier to be more accommodating, but it seems that you were more prudent than I was." Ilene sighed sadly. She wasn't sure if Darien really had his own father killed and was now after Rene, but she didn't want to take any chances. One thing was certain, Darien had the motive and the resources and that was enough incentive to keep a cautious eye on him.

"Are you suggesting that I should stay away from him?" Confusion as well as guilt flooded through her system. 'Could she have found out about last night?'

"I just realize that he hasn't proven himself to be trustful. He's out to get us, and I think we should just be careful," she replied stoically hoping her words had no truth behind them. As much as she wanted to dislike him, she could already see that Darien was very much his father's son, however, grief could drive one insane, just look at her, and she couldn't risk Rene's wellbeing based on her intuition. Ilene made a mental note to speak to Rene about Matthew in a non-suspicious manner seeing as she was great friends with Amy.

"You're right, mama, as always," Rene sighed. 'Things were getting pretty complicated,' she thought, agreeing with Darien's earlier words before settling back into a silence with her mother.

Return to reality

"_My man he don't love me he treats me oh so mean  
My man he don't love me he treats me oh so mean  
He's the meanest man that I've ever see_

_My baby wears high peg pants stripes are really yellow  
Baby wears high peg pants stripes area really yellow  
When he starts into love me he's so fine and mellow"_

And then he goes and kisses me and all the caution goes out the door! Furious with herself, she promised to be more in control with her feelings in the future. Although she felt guilty about withholding the new development between her and Darien from her mother, she did feel a thread of excitement from it.

She hated to admit it, but when she was in the shower last night, she had missed him. In the week since she had refused to speak to him since her mouth went dry even when she saw him, she missed the jerk. Whether it was just the shadow of his lashes on his cheeks when he blinked or just the teasing tone of his voice when they fought verbally, she missed him. That had severely bothered her, but no longer. The infuriating yet lovely man was right. She had one life to live, and this was one thing too delicious to give up. 'For my personal defense, of course,' she added belatedly.

"_Love will make you drink and gamble make you stay out all night long  
Love will make you drink and gamble make you stay out all night long  
Love will make you do things that you know is wrong_

_Do right baby if you stay home every day  
I'll do right baby if you stay home every day  
You're so mean and evil I know you're gonna drive me away"_

Despite the gloom of the day, she couldn't help but to smile and to wait for Darien to return hoping it would be soon. "In anticipation indeed," she whispered as she put his note beside her bedside table and sank into Billie Holiday's "Fine and Mellow."

"_Why did he leave me why did he have to go  
Why did he leave me why did he have to go  
Went off and left me baby I loved him so_

_I'll be a good wife to you if it means anything to you  
I'll stay home every night and I'll love you  
And kiss you every night and one of these days  
If you're good to me honey one of these day  
If God is good to me I'll bring you a little burny_

_Come back to me baby try me one more time  
Cos without your loving I swear I'm gonna lose my mind"_

"Girl, get y'ass up! You promised to go the market with me!" Lita pounded relentlessly on Rene's door. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" When she resorted to making tractor/police siren noises, Rene finally jumped out of bed to open the door.

"The things I do for your food!" She groaned as she stumbled to the closet and yanked out a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt.

Lita just smiled sheepishly at her friend. The thought warmed her considerably. Lita "long legs" Evans, as she was dubbed in the county high school, the aspiring chef who could barely control her ridiculously long limbs anywhere else except in the kitchen. Ah, the kitchen… the one element she was comfortable in. Well, that and at the market. The excitement boiled in her again. 'Shopping bud-dy! Shopping bud-dy!' She chanted happily.

"Yessh, cool it Lita. It's not like you just scored a hot date!" Rene teased the blushing chef who stuck out her tongue in response.

"What the hell were you thinking? A minor? And not just any minor either, you just had to get with the freaking daughter of one of our top clients!" Darien bit his bottom lip angrily.

Damon sat silently across from him taking the reprimand obediently.

"Seriously, what's your defense? Were you drunk? Lonely?" Silently Darien's thoughts ran a mile a minute. 'Please don't say that you knew exactly what you were doing… anything but that!'

"She seduced me. She doesn't even look 17 years old! Since when are men supposed to do a background check on everyone they sleep with?" A note of desperation crept into his hoarse voice.

"But you knew she was Jack Martin's daughter. You knew what a scandal could cost us! What do you want me to tell Martin? That his precious daughter is a little slut that enjoys seducing older men?" Darien's fingers massaged his throbbing temples. He knew berating Damon had limited benefits but venting out his frustration was making him clearer-headed.

"What do you suggest we do?" Damon asked meekly.

"You get with Martin one-on-one. Apologize, brown-nose, marry his slutty daughter, it doesn't matter as long as you get it done right. I want to find out where this leak came from. Worst case scenario, someone planted the girl to screw us over."

Damon's pallor was ashen white. "M-m-marry her?" He stuttered.

"This isn't the time for one of your stuttering episodes. How're you supposed to get on Martin's good graces by being idiot?" Darien kneaded his tense neck muscles.

"Darien, I know it means shit right now, but I am sorry. If it makes you feel any better, my sex life is going to suffer for the rest of my life."

"Are there charges pressed?"

"The DA is being pressured, but I talked with my attorney, and since we have proof that the girl seduced me, I have a high chance of winning."

"If you reveal that in court, we're still going to lose Martin. Let's show him the evidence first and settle it at that. If he doesn't care that his daughter's indiscretions are released to the media hounds, we'll take it to court," Darien mused.

"I'll make arrangements to meet with him. Will you be there Darien?"

"Of course I will. You've saved my ass a couple of times before," Darien chuckled at sudden memories despite the seriousness of the situation. Running half-naked in the backyard as Damon kept Senator Hunter from entering his home and finding his beautiful wife's clothes sprinkled across the foyer came to mind first.

"It's good to have you back. What the hell were you doing in the middle of nowhere anyway?" Damon joked glad to be back in Darien's good graces.

"It's good to be back for now," Darien replied mysteriously as Damon took the hint that it was time to move on to another subject.

"Lita! Strawberries!" Rene shouted over the bustle of the market. Although the town was usually sleepy, the regional marketplace about 3 miles outside the city was always bustling with commerce.

"Geez, Rene! And you're the one who told me I was too excited about this," Lita teased as they make their way through the throng.

"Strawberries are the stuff of gods," Rene sighed as Lita picked two ripe baskets.

"Yep, I hear ya. They redefine foreplay," Lita smiled wickedly as Rene's face reddened.

"You're just as bad as Darien," Rene grinned. The look Lita returned her suddenly reminded her of the day when Lita had first seen Darien in the kitchen and the odd looks shared between the two.

Lita paid for the strawberries, and Rene's mind raced with questions. 'Did they used to hook-up? Is that why Lita was so shaken by the sight of him so many years later? If so, did she still harbor feelings for Darien?'

When Lita finally grabbed the purchases and began making it to the next stall, Rene grabbed her.

"Lita, what happened between you and Darien?"

Her eyes widened considerably. "What d'ya mean?" She tried to move away again, but Rene kept a firm grip on her wrist.

"What was the look you gave him when you first saw him in the kitchen? What's the history between you two? Don't you dare deny it either," Rene said.

"Look, it's too loud here. Can't we talk about this later?" There was a plea in Lita's eyes that Rene didn't have the heart to persist. Whatever happened was obviously painful for her usually strong friend. Could she be one of the many whose heart was ruthlessly broken by Darien? Could Lita have made an arrangement with Darien as well?


	6. Chapter 6

"There are things tha'you don't know bout me, Rene. It ain't tha'no one knows, it just hurts too much to bring'em up," Lita sighed as they pulled into a public park parking lot.

"Forgive Lita, I didn't mean to pry…"

"No, it ain't tha. If anythin' it's nice to be able to let some o'dis come out. Holdin' it in ain't healthy for nobody. And you been a real friend, Rene, I wanna share dis wit you."

They took a seat under the poplar trees at a park bench. The muggy day seemed to glow a pale green from the foliage. It was beautiful, but it was easy to see that neither of the two women is relaxed.

Lita took a deep breath before beginning.

"It was over two years ago 'round Thanksgivin', 'bout a month aft' I broke up with Andrew. Andrew was one o' tha locals back then. I hear he's in Iowa now, makin' a livin' off the ethanol craze. We'd known each'ther since when we was kids n' when we brok'it off… it jus broke my heart. I'd time off from class so I'd helped Mom out at th'estate, thought'd keep my mind off things. Back then Elena had already been dead for a coupla years. They were still recoverin' but Master Brady still want'd make the best o'it…"

Flashback

Nineteen year old Lita Evans was bent over the cutting board dicing tomatoes while her mother Lauren was making fresh fruit pies beside her. The preparations for the big dinner took a lot more work than she anticipated. Although Lita was practically a gourmet chef after working with her mother for many years, her mother insisted on putting her through culinary school. The thought riled her. Lita wasn't one who liked to take orders from others without a good explanation, and most of time spent at culinary school was dealing with nonsensical etiquette and stupid rules.

Lita watched her mother stick the pies in the oven before putting the tomatoes here in own recipe of stewed calamari and lentil soup. A swish of the door behind them made her raise her head. A smile descended on her face.

"Darien! How've you been?" Lauren smiled warmly while giving him a warm hug. She worked many years at the Brady household, and she had watched Darien grow into a handsome young man.

"Bit overworked but still alive. You look as gorgeous as ever, Lauren," he said smiling.

"Oh hush. Ain't proper for such a young'un speakin' like tha to one as ol' as your mother," Lauren frowned when she realized the error in her words, "Pardon me, son. I didn't mean it."

Darien nodded it away and looked at the girl standing at the stove. "Lita, how's school?"

"Fine," Lita mumbled awkwardly. Although Darien had never been unkind to her, a sense of pride prevented her from becoming too friendly with him.

"It's smells good," he complimented at her concoction.

"Thanks. It'll be ready soon."

Darien nodded before giving them both another smile.

"I guess I'll catch you two at dinner, and there's a friend I'm going to need to feed if it's not too much trouble."

"My pleasure, Darien. You just make sure tha boy's got a healthy appetite," Lauren replied happily.

At dinner, the staff all sat at the table with George, Darien, and Nathan Phelite with a magnificent feast spread out before them. Everyone complimented Lauren and Lita, who blushed with pride, for the fruits of their labor.

"Everyone, time for the traditional toast," Josh the butler announced as eyes settled on George at the head of the table.

"My friends, I am so blessed to be gathered here tonight with such a wonderful crowd. We have worked hard this past year and profited from our labor. My son Darien and his friend, Nathan, have worked their way up into the management at Brady & Shields. No doubt the future will be even brighter for them. And then we have our very own Lita who will graduate from Lenior University and become a world famous chef. Now, now Lita, don't be shy. You have earned it. And the Sheltons welcomed a baby boy this past August. That will be a new experience for many here at the estate, and I am glad to say that I am proud to be a godfather to baby Tate. My friends, I will end with this. There comes a time in many men's lives when they wakes up with none of the youthful vigor they possessed seemingly since his birth, and he will lose all sense of purpose and direction. Thanks to you all, I was saved from that miserable end. Happy Thanksgiving!" Applause rang out in the large dining room.

'He's almost my papa,' Lita thought she watched George sit down.

"Well don't jus' set there! Y'all better eat all this food!" Lauren chided even as she wiped moisture from her eyes.

The dinner was a success, and it wasn't until much later that night until she remembered what had driven her back to the estate.

'Why did I do it? IT was my choice. No one forc'd me. Andrew didn't force me. It's my fault,' she thought as she sat weeping in the kitchen. Although the room always brought her comfort when she was younger, she sat miserably with tears running down her face.

'Even my favorite room don't like me any more… I'ma horrible person. God, if only I could forget. If only the pain will go'way.'

She had been too preoccupied to notice the deep laughter approaching the kitchen until it was too late. She spun away from them, facing the sink as they entered and pretended to wash her hands. Trying to force the sobs away, she even managed to carry on a light conversation with them until they left again.

It was not even five minutes later when the door opened again.

"Miss Lita," Nathan said gently in the kitchen.

Cursing him silently, she cleared her throat before replying, "Yes?"

"I was wondering if you could tell me why you let that bastard put his self-righteous control and guilt over you," he said evenly.

Turning in complete shock, she gasped at him. 'How did he know about…?' "E'cuse me, what di'you say?"

A look of complete surprise and concern took over his handsome countenance.

"I asked if you could tell me where the water glasses were," he said in a quiet voice.

"Oh!" Reddening with incredible speed, she rushed to a cupboard and promptly pulled out two glasses, "I'm sorry. I guess I ain't hear you right."

"Are you okay?" He stepped closer to her as he took the glasses from her shaking hand.

"I'm jus peachy. I was just… cutting up 'em onions, and those things pull quite a lil number on my sinuses," she gave a brilliant smile, hoping he'd fall for the southern belle routine she's perfected for times like these.

He seemed taken aback and bid her goodnight before exiting the kitchen quickly. Despite herself, she found herself sorry to see him go.

Over the weekend, Lita continued assisting her mother with cooking while secretly she mourned. Each time Nathan saw her, he was nothing but polite and charming. When Lita studied the way he watched her from over her shoulder, she knew that he didn't fall for her lame excuse that night. The man was obviously bright and possibly very nosy if his prying questions were any indication.

Lita was afraid that this stranger would be the catalyst that would cause her to tell everyone why her smiles were no longer genuine and her heart constantly hurting.

'I can't let 'im mention it t'others. How would I tell mama? I'll talk t'im t'night and convinc'im to forg'it.' Firming her resolve, she planned to find him alone and straighten things out.

Later that night after finishing the preparations for a new pan of coffeecake, she stopped by the bathroom to check her appearance. She brushed her auburn curls behind her ears and straightened the collar of her polo shirt. She hadn't worn makeup since the procedure.

'I don't deserve to be beautiful. Not when my own…' Shaking her head at herself, she exited hastily.

Darien and Nathan had gone out that night to the only bar in town. It was almost eleven, and hopefully they'd be back relatively soon. With butterflies fluttering restlessly in her stomach, she opened the door to Nathan's guestroom.

'Stop flippin' out! I'm only in'ere 'cause it's the only place I'll find'im to be alone. I'll jus wait for'im to come in and then tell him tha he can't tell anyone 'bout me cryin' in the kitchen,' she thought to herself as she sat down in a chaise.

The room was dark yet she was afraid to turn on the lights and catch someone's attention. 'How embarassin' would tha be? To be found in tha guests' room?' The bed was made and the air smelled faintly like Nathan's aftershave. The seconds sank into minutes and then hours. At first she just sat patiently on the chaise in the middle of the room, but fatigue and boredom eventually took over. She slowly drifted to sleep with Nathan's smell filling her senses.

Nathan and Darien supported each other as they tripped over the many stairs and steps.

"Man, I can't believe you turned that girl down!" Darien slurred as Nathan swayed precariously on the staircase.

"Shit! Why do you have so many stairs in this house?" Nathan cursed as he tripped over the carpet.

"Don't try to change the subject…" Darien's head bumped against the wall.

"Get your act together before you wake up the house," Nathan berated in a loud voice.

"Shh! Look who's talking." They finally reached their adjacent rooms before both stumbling in.

"You better not come in the bathroom when I'm pissin' in there," Darien joked.

"I'll try not to," Nathan retorted before retreating into his room. Not bothering to flip on the lights he began undressing and tossing his clothes unto the chaise adjacent to the dresser. "A shower can wait…" he muttered before suddenly remembering to take out his phone to charge.

His unsteady hand groped around in the dark for the discarded pants before finding a piece of warm cotton slacks. He picked it up and reached into the pocket to get his phone. Just before he threw down the pants again, the light reflected from his phone hit something on the chaise oddly. The blue illumination sparked something bright and shiny, and he squinted to get a better look.

It was a lock of silky hair peeking beneath his shirt!

"What the…?" He quietly removed the shirt and then the jacket, sobering immediately. His heart flew into his throat when he saw the body that was sprawled across the 19th century chaise.

"Oh my god," he whispered as he watched Lita's rhythmic breathing and the steady rising and falling of her chest.

'What is she doing in my room? Could she have been waiting for me? Why?'

His hand traveled to her back and rubbed gently, massaging the lean muscles and graceful curves beneath. The cotton of her sweater warmed his shaky hands as he sat down beside her. Her only response was a satisfied whimper. He told himself that the touch was only meant to wake her up, but the sight of her resting peacefully brought a tender smile to his lips.

'She was a heavy sleeper…' he smiled to himself forgetting the fact that the only thing he was wearing was a pair of boxers and socks.

She instinctively drew closer to his body for warmth, and he found himself brushing the hair from her tranquil face. He sobered even more when he thought back to her crying the kitchen. He hadn't mentioned it to her, but he first noticed the slight catch in her voice when he first went in with Darien.

His hand clutched against her hair. 'How many times had he caught his own mother weeping in the kitchen? How many nights had she suffered before she took her pain away? Why was he too stupid to save her then?'

He promised himself that he wouldn't make the same mistake. That he would help the girl curled around him.

"Lita!" He murmured repeatedly as he tried to wake her.

"Jus let me sleep," she whined sleepily as she tried to wrap an arm around the warm object.

That was when Nathan realized that his body was responding to the girl when her hand settled obnoxiously on his upper thigh. Quickly grabbing his pants, he tried to wake her again.

Lita awoke with a start. She missed the extremely pleasant touch on her back and then the sense of secure warmth, but she knew something was dreadfully wrong. She fell asleep as she waited for Nathan to return! Cursing herself, she looked shyly at him from under the curtain of hair that slipped out of her ponytail holder as she slept.

His reaction stunned her. He nearly sprang back two feet as she looked at him like she had shocked him with a jolt of electricity before pacing the room.

"Why di'you jus jump like that?" She demanded rather hurt.

"I was surprised that you're in here," he muttered to her. In truth, the girl had no idea what she had just looked like. With curls spilling over her eye and shoulders, the flesh in his pants jump painfully at the sight.

"I reckon you'd like t'know what I'm doing here," she replied curtly, her pride still smarting from before.

He chuckled at the impossibility of the situation before him.

"That would be a start," he replied easily as he leaned against the dresser, keeping distance between them.

"I jus want'd to ask you not t'talk 'bout what happen'd in the kitchen tha night. I was upset 'bout something n' I jus want'd a good cry," she answered calmly.

"Do you mind me asking what it was that made you so sad?" He replied gently. The alcohol was slowing draining from his mind, and it seemed that all that mattered was if he could save this vivacious young woman. He didn't know her very well, but from what he heard from George, who saw the girl as a daughter, she was brilliant and strong despite her southern mannerisms.

The fact that she reminded him of his failings with his suffering mother did nothing to diffuse his curiousity.

"Yes," she answered sharply before sighing.

"I'm sorry bein' so rude n' all, but I don't wanna talk bout it," she amended with a slight smile.

Nathan remembered the bright smile that she'd given him that night. 'This was her defense mechanism!' He had wondered why that bright smile had failed to reach her eyes the other night, but now that she was trying to pull another one over him, he could see behind her scheme. His mother used to straighten his hair or fuss with his clothes in order to hide her frustrations…

"You came tonight to convince me not to tell anyone else, right?" He asked evenly as his mind raced with thoughts.

"Yes," she replied with her eyes averted.

"I see. What will I get in exchange for keeping your secret?" He resumed his pacing. 'My goal is to find out why she was so sad. If I failed to protect mother before, I sure as hell won't fail this girl now! What can I do to make her trust me? Am I expecting too much from her? After all, we're barely acquaintances, and I'm due to return home in 2 days…'

"E'cuse me?" Her voice rose as her head whipped up to him. For the first time that night, she got a full look at him. His back was facing her as one strong hand attached to his hip. Andrew had been well-built due to all the heavy-duty farm work he's in charge of, but Nathan had a polished power rippling beneath his copper skin.

'He couldn't mean for me to…?' Her thoughts were interrupted.

"I'll keep your secret if you'll one day find me trustworthy enough to confide in." His voice was soft and surprisingly tender.

'Andrew yell'd at me fo'not bein' careful. He told me I was worthless now, that no one would ever love me…'

"Why do you care?" She whispered brokenly as she hugged her knees to her body. 'You're stupid. He doesn't care. He wants to get in your pants like tha rest o'em and leave ya sorry ass.'

"I will keep your secrets, Lita, and in return I will offer you friendship and trust. Please just don't let the pain pent-up inside! No one should've allowed him to hurt you; I shouldn't have allowed him to hurt you. I'm so sorry," his voice faded and the room was silent.

"But it was me who allowed'im to hurt me and my baby. It's all my fault," she whispered to herself.

Nathan's head shot up at the figure perched on the chaise. The moonlight spilled into the room, basking her in an ethereal silver glow.

"Your baby?" He asked softly.

Lita returned to the present and in a strangled cry realized her folly. Struggling to stand on shaking knees, she made the way to the door in a few steps before yanking the oak door open.

"Lita," Nathan called out as she closed the door behind her wild escape.

End Flashback

"I kill'd my own baby, Rene. I know tha it's common now despite the controversies and whatnot. But I ain't thought that I would…I should've kept't. Now I won't ever know if it was a girl or a boy…" Lita's voice lowered to a whisper as she let Rene hug her.

"Oh Lita, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that you had an abortion. It wasn't your fault. We all make decisions under pressure sometimes and regret them later. I'm sorry no one knew to help you," Rene comforted.

"No one knew until months after tha night…"

Flashback

Lita returned to school and then to an internship she was accepted to after break, and life returned to a semi-normal state. During the day she interned at one of the prominent eateries in the Chicago area. In the afternoons she often worked on her recipes and perfecting her techniques at a modest apartment she rented. Darien even came to visit her several times at the restaurant to wish her good luck. She didn't want to admit it then, but she knew George and Darien had put in a good word for the internship. As hopeless as she felt sometimes, she knew that she had people who loved her unconditionally and that alone kept her going.

Yet it was during the nights that she suffered. Under the guise of darkness, memories and nightmares plagued her sleep. She eventually saw a therapist for her depression, and she found that it was soothing to speak to someone about her life. Although she never revealed the real reason for her self-hate, it still helped some just to let her frustrations vent.

It was almost Valentines' Day when the chef and owner of Yearling's offered her a permanent position at the restaurant as an assistant chef once she graduated in May. Life was good albeit a bit dull. Lita decided to treat herself to something nice for the occasion and found a Macy's.

'Why not?' She shrugged as she entered and instantly regretted it.

The store was filled with decorations, store clerks, and shoppers catered to love and Valentines' Day. Lovers anywhere from their teens to their seventies strolled and shopped. Some were giving those "Wait until we get home so I can screw your brains out" look while others were calling their loved ones "poochie" and "cupcake."

'Me n' Andrew was like tha couple makin' out over there,' she mused silently as she made her way to the women's section. The winters in Chicago were exceedingly cold for a country girl like her, and it didn't take her long to learn how to bundle up for the cold.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I'm lookin' for some cas'mere gloves."

The salesclerk eyed Lita wearily.

"It is right over there, miss," she answered choppily before returning to folding her sweaters.

''Nother one o'those anti-southern accents people. You'd think the civil war was still on the way they act… I'm definitely not contributin' to her commission…'

She picked out a forest green pair and ambled her way to the adjacent men's department. Picking the first pay station that only had two customers ahead of her, she stood in line while retrieving her purse.

A familiar scent wafted to her nose, and she sniffed.

'It's a good smell. Soothin' n' clean,' she decided as she moved with the line.

The man ahead of her seemed to take forever, and when he finally moved out of the way, Lita hefted her purchase down and paid.

On the way out, she stopped to take one more look at the store and remembered the time that Andrew took her to Home Depot, and she had nearly fainted in excitement.

'Oh, how far I've come from then…'

A glass door slammed into her and vaulted her to the floor before she could even cry out in shock.

"Ah geez, I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, and I just… Lita, is that you?" A puzzled voice chased the stairs from her eyes.

She opened her eyes and a pair of stone grey ones stare back at her.

"Nathan! I mean, Mr. Phelite!" She stood up with his help, and that intoxicating smell drifted into her nose again. 'It was'im tha I smelled earlier! Oh I'm sucha knuckl'ead!'

"No, it was my fault rushing back in here. I was here getting one of my friends a gift, and they forgot to take the security tag off. I was on my way back when I so rudely ran into you," he explained and then with a slightly breathless voice, he asked, "How have you been Lita?"

"I been all right. I'm on internship at a restaurant n' I was promoted today so…"

"So are you busy tonight? Maybe go grab a bite to eat somewhere?" Nathan held his breath and braced himself for rejection. Although he hadn't spoken to her since the night she fled his room, he had thought about her predicament often. It didn't take much speculation to guess what might have made her so sad. No one ever mentioned Lita having a child, and it was pretty obvious the way she carried the guilt with her. For his own mother, the guilt was to her husband. She blamed herself for not being enough for her promiscuous husband. Nathan learned much from that relationship and promised himself that once he found the one he loved enough to marry that he'd never cheat on her either in body or in spirit. This resolve only hardened when EMS wheeled his mother's body out the front door. She had drained her body of her blood with a few simple cuts, but Nathan knew that her body and soul had already been emptied by his father's infidelities.

"I…uh…" She stuttered as she contemplated her options. 'Practice braising beef or go out with hot, caring, rich guy who knows my secret…'

"Although I would really enjoy your company, I don't want you to feel obligated. I know things were awkward between us after that night…" He waited patiently for her to sort her thoughts, and he was rewarded with one of those genuine smiles that radiated from her large hazel eyes.

"Actually, I'd be happy to t'night. I've wanted to get out n' see the city fo'too long now."

"Wonderful. May I have your number or your address? I'd be happy to pick you up at 7 tonight." An internal breath of relief later, he held her number in his blackberry and walked towards the men's department with a lighter spring in his steps.

They went to an authentic Latin restaurant where he entertained her with jokes and made her blush with sincere compliments. Later they even tried a few moves out on the dance floor, but dancing were neither of their fortes.

At the end of the night, he escorted her back to her place like a perfect gentlemen and asked to see her again sometime.

And so a passionate and caring relationship blossomed under their very noses. Everything had happened so fast. It started with dinner and then day trips and eventually a weekend retreat at a ski resort. When Lita looked back on the progression of the relationship, it was unbelievable. Somehow they had entwined their lives so inexplicably that it seemed they had never been apart. It was their one month anniversary that Lita invited him into her bedroom, a place she had held private since her horrid relationship with Andrew.

"Lita, I want to wait," Nathan said even she pulled his shirt over his head.

"I can't. I've waited for t'night for too long. Don't make me wait anymore…" She silenced him with a kiss.

For weeks after, she still smiled at the thought of him making love to her that first night. He had been tortuously slow as he constantly checked to make sure of her comfort. And when she had nearly died of anticipation, he had guided her to something she wasn't sure she'd be able to experience again. When he held her to him for the night and so many nights after, she would sleep restfully. She loved him, and five months after she first went out with him, she told him about her failed relationship with Andrew and her abortion procedure and that somewhere along the way she realized that she loved him.

For Nathan, the admission had been an echo to what had been in his head for quite a while. When he watched her smile at spring returning to the city or when he heard her light giggles as he tickled her… it was the only feeling that made sense. He found himself comparing every woman he met or knew to Lita and finding them all lacking. Not only that, he couldn't see himself ever being able to leave her. His fear that she would one day leave him to a miserable and lonely destiny was quieted by her admission of love. He wanted to shout out his joy. How wonderful it was to find the one person that complemented the person he's spent the last quarter decade creating and finding that she felt the same way too!

"Lita, I love you! What we have is an all-consuming love that doesn't require dependence on each other. I love all of you even the suffering you put yourself through to spare others pain. You build me up, and we make each other to be the best we can be. I know it's sudden, but that night when you watched me with that look in your eyes, I knew. Do you remember that? When I nearly jumped out of my skin? I love you, Lita Evans, and I want you to marry me."

She accepted the proposal with a breathless moan as she rushed into his arms. Just like that, they were engaged to marriage, a ceremony neither grew up understanding. Yet they were suddenly determined to succeed because it all seemed worth it as long as they were together. It was odd to Lita that her life could change so quickly and seem just like she had been in love with Nathan for her whole life.

When they announced the news to Lauren, George, and Darien, Lita also told them what she had hidden from them for so long. They shared tears and pain, but somehow they both came out better because of it. As for the impeding wedding, her mother was beyond ecstatic for them, but Lita's soon-to-be in-laws were still out of the loop. Nathan began to skirt around the issue when the subject came up, and they were soon having arguments over it.

"I ain't never met your parents, Nathan," Lita said one day as they cleaned up after dinner. "Think they'd like me?"

"My mother's dead, Lita. She would've loved you." Nathan's voice was strained and Lita looked at him puzzled.

"I'm sorry. I wish she could b'ere." In all the time they had gotten to know each other, they had never talked about Nathan's parents. Lita hadn't ever realized that fact until now.

"I know, but it's all right because you're here with me."

"N' your dad, Nate? Will he approve o'me?"

"Lita, I'll take care of him. It'll take some time for him to get used to the idea…"

"Get us'd t'me bein' married t'you? Nate, why can't you jus tell him? He'll have t'know sometime, preferably before the wedding!"

"Sweetheart, my dad's been pushing me for years to get married to one of the those socialites whose fathers play golf with my dad. I just want to tell them the good news when the right time comes."

"So he wouldn't think I'm good 'nough fo'you?"

When he said nothing, the reality of it hit her. She was a southern girl whose aspirations in life consisted of starting her own restaurant. She was the child of a single mother with no inheritance or trust fund. She was barely twenty and trying to marry a man who was well-established in the upper-class society.

The self-doubts began to resurface. For a woman who was beautiful, happy, and care-free, she found it ironic that she could feel so vulnerable around Nathan.

She didn't have a future…Nathan had one but not with her. She had fallen in love with someone she'd never be able to have. Somewhere between the sheets and the laughter, she'd forgotten who she was and where she belonged…and where _he_ belonged.

The call from his father while Nathan was at work a few months from their intended wedding date sealed her resolve.

"Listen here, Miss Evans. I've spoken to my son, and he's already starting to come to see this from my perspective. Nathan has big plans in life, and if you truly love him, you will understand that he needs to be free. I'm not telling you stop the engagement. I'm merely suggesting that you give him some space. He's under lots of stress, and from what I hear on the grapevine, you've been under plenty of stress as well. He needs someone who's mentally and financially stable, and although I'm sure you'll be a great wife to the man of your choice, I just want you to make sure you and Nathan are a good fit for each other. Please just take an old man's last wishes when you make your decision. That is all I will ever ask of you."

She had answered in a barely audible voice before hanging up, "I love your son, n' I know what I've got t'do."

Across the line, Calvert Phelite smiled. The country bumpkin's voice told him all he needed to know. She was defeated just like he pathetic excuse of a wife did many years before her, and just like any other woman who would ever come in his way. This was a man's world after all, and someone has to remind those bitches that they weren't good for anything else than a good screw and cheap labor. Now why his only son couldn't understand that simple concept was a mystery to Calvert. But women, women who thought they could be something in life, Calvert understood perfectly.

She gave her two weeks notice the very next day. She knew she couldn't stay in the city after leaving him just because there were simply too many memories and too much of a temptation to beg him to take her back later. Besides, the city showed her something that years of schooling would've never shown her. The real world was tough and getting tougher. She was strong, but she wasn't raised to compete with these bloodthirsty bastards. She was just too good-natured. After a few days of calling Lauren and George and explaining briefly that she wasn't ready for marriage and that she just wanted to return home, she began to make her final plans. Packing most of her stuff into a suitcase that she hid in the hall closet, she waited for Nathan to return home.

That night she welcomed him with a gourmet dinner she meticulously planned and cooked. She took the opportunity to memorize every single detail of his face and of his movements. Nathan wasn't completely oblivious to the peculiar way Lita was acting, but he didn't press when she brushed his questions off.

After indulging in a rich chocolate soufflé together, she had pulled him to the bedroom wordlessly. As clothes were discarded, she pushed him unto their bed and straddled him and pulled him under a wave of passion. The last time was all under her control. Nathan didn't complain or try to regain the upper hand after sensing that she was fighting something even as she made love to him wild and wanton. As his head rested on her stomach and her fingers ran through his hair, she thought that now she could finally leave. What Nathan evoked in her…she never expected to find it again, and with this final memory of her overcoming her fears with this wonderful man supporting her, she was ready to give him up and to save him.

In the early hours of the morning, she had a hell of a time disentangling herself from his close embrace. After retrieving the briefcase of her belongings from the hall closet, she returned to her sleeping soon-to-be ex-fiancé and cupped his shadowed cheek lovingly. Giving him one last kiss, she left the city where she loved and have lost.

End Flashback

"Lita, I'm so sorry," Rene said as she continued hugging her openly sobbing friend.

"Don't be, Rene. It wasn't ever yer fault. It was my own stupidity. I loved someone against all th'rules, n' I sure paid fo'it."

Rene sighed nervously.

"Against all the rules…" she repeated. 'This heartbreak is exactly where I'm headed yet I can't get myself to stop wanting to see him, to be with him. It's completely wrong but there's some just something that's pulling me towards Darien. The few moments I've spent with him were mostly teasing but I've been able to steal peeks at who he really was…'

"What I just can't get outta my head is jus tha he never came aft'me. I had always hoped n' pray'd tha one day he'd be here n' tell me it didn't matter what his dad wanted n' tha he's never stopp'd lovin' me. I had unrealistic expectations, I reckon," Lita sighed. She opted to leave out the part of the story when after returning back to the estate and taking over for her mother, she would often look out the window or search the papers for him. There were tabloids about him dating some new hot model or successful businesswoman, and Lita's heart broke each time. After George and Darien's fall-out, she gave up all hope of him ever coming back for her. It would be easy enough for him, but apparently he just didn't care anymore.

"Do you still love him?" Rene asked gently when she saw the hurt expression on Lita's face.

"God help me, but I never stopp'd."

"Against all the rules," Rene said again as a water snake slid into the stream beside them.


	7. Chapter 7

"What are you doing here?" Darien demanded as he eyed his uncle suspiciously. Aside from insomnia and grief, anger burned within Darien for his uncle. There was once a time when he saw Matthew as a loving relative who looked and acted so much like his father. Now his beloved father, a man who was thousands of times a better man and father, was dead, and this pathetic excuse of a petty blue-blooded white-collar criminal was alive.

It was undeniable that as much as George taught Darien how to be both a honorable businessman and a kind and compassionate man, Darien also learned much from Matthew. At one point in his early life he looked up to both the men for their different talents. George was always charismatic and charming, two traits his mother always said that passed on to Darien in triple amounts, while Matthew was a pensive and brooding man. And as far as Darien knew, Matthew had been perfectly content with his life until his wife's tragic death.

Everything went to hell for Matthew and Amy after that. As much as George and Elena tried to do to help Matthew out of his depression, nothing seemed to work. It hadn't been easy on Amy either and despite Darien's young age at the time, he felt some sort of compulsion to help the dark-haired toddler. And one day everything stopped. Matthew seemed to have a renewed lease on life as he sank his life into his work. Amy was surpassing all her teacher's expectations and managed to skip two grades in middle school. Her natural shyness and beauty prevented people from picking on her too much although having Darien there at a moment's disposal didn't hurt either. Although Darien often looked in wonder at the wonderful girl and later woman Amy had become under such tragic and unforeseeable circumstances, he's always sensed a presence of intense sorrow and determination in her blue-grey eyes. After moving to the estate when he was around 15, they saw less of each other, and their relationship naturally deteriorated. Amy never mentioned it, but she didn't have many friends.

Things changed for the worse after Elena's sudden and painful death. Like Matthew, his father fell into a mild depression before investing all his time into his hurting son. When Darien returned from the Philips Exeter Academy during the holidays, George would teach him practical ways to apply his knowledge. As he grew older and became involved with the company, Darien watched as his father and other members of the board discovered Matthew's connections with a prominent Russian mob and a long laundry list of other criminal behavior through the company over the past five years. The revelations of his uncle's betrayal coupled with his mother's death hardened Darien and turned him into a completely unrecognizable character when inside the board room. Although there were moments when the warmth would again light in his eyes as he laughed to one of his friends' barbs or as he stargazed with George one clear night before his father remarried, Darien had turned into a different man. After a quarter of a decade's time, Darien lived by the motto that to be impervious to pain and suffering, you must first learn to be indifferent to emotion. Nothing good ever came from emotions… and it was with this in mind that he turned a frosty gaze to a haggard-looking Matthew.

"Is that any way to greet your uncle?" Matthew asked complacently. The years haven't been kind to him, Darien noted, not that the bastard deserved it.

"What I want to know is how you ever managed to get into the building since dad kicked you out for good," Darien retorted with a smirk. Matthew reddened.

"You father did not kick me out. It was good time for me to retire, and I did what I thought was the best during the circumstances. I regret nothing."

"I'm glad you found a way to console yourself since he gave me your old job. Just admit it. You were over the hill, both physically and intellectually. I needed to stop you from doing even more damage to the firm. God knows how long its taken us to restore some of the respect and dignity around here since your tyrannical reign."

"You overstep your bounds, nephew. From what I hear, I haven't been the only one dealing with mafia bosses these days. It seems the mantles been passed onto the next generation. Besides, I didn't come here to talk about that. I'm here to warn you." Matthew's stern jaw ticked. Darien suddenly realized that Matthew was furious, much too angry from his careless barbs. 'He has something up his sleeve…'

"Well, I am most interested, but you'll have to make an appointment like everyone else. Managing these criminal clientele is a full-time job, you know," Darien sneered as he turned back to his paperwork indifferently.

"Boy, I am not going to play around with you. You act as if you have no care in the world about what happens in the world. Don't even pretend to grieve for your father. I've been in his shadow our whole lives yet even I attended his wedding. How do you feel knowing that your father died knowing that you were too selfish to give a shit about his happiness? And this little innocence act is below you, stand up and be a man. I know what you're up to, and if you don't stop before you hurt Rene or her mother, I will ruin you."

Darien paused. Why was Matthew so worried about Rene and Ilene? How did he know of his arrangement with Rene and his secret plan to regain the estate? Why did he even care?

Instead of asking any of these questions, he retorted sharply as he stood up quickly from his seat, "You and what army?"

"Damn it, you may have fooled George, but I'm onto you. We didn't get along all the time, but in his memory I will protect those that he loved even if that means exposing you for the monster you are."

"Matthew, you've been out of practice for too long. My monstrosity has made this company more profitable than you would have ever imagined. As far as my man, you can be well-assured that I am more man than you will ever be. It seems that at least it is still hereditary in at least one side of the family."

"I'm warning you, Darien. Stay away from your step-mother and your step-sister or you'll regret it. Hell, if anything happens to them, I'll go running to the police with the whole truth before you could even wipe your hands off, and even if that doesn't get you indicted on murder, it will screw you for a shit-load of other crimes."

"Duly noted, and now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have to ask you to remove yourself. Some people still have a job and work to do." Darien watched with hate-filled eyes as his uncle left his office. 'Don't worry, uncle. I have no intention of murdering anyone, especially not my illustrious step-sister. I've learned a long time ago that death is not the ultimate punishment, and you of all people should understand this.'

Ilene paced the study back and forth seemingly for hours. Ever since Matthew's visit, she had failed to sleep, eat, or even talk well. Thoughts flew like hailstones in her head. She moved around the estate like a ghost… people in town spoke of her as being possessed by the late Elena. The talk angered her to no end. Despite George's constant assurance that he loved her for being just herself, Ilene never could get over her jealousy for the former mistress of the manor. Her presence was everywhere. Sometimes she even imagined that she'd come to know Elena Bodet-Brady from the furniture to the landscaping of the estate. She'd always wondered how George and Elena met but had been too embarrassed to ask. Yet Ilene had a secret too. A long time ago, when she hadn't even met George Brady, she had met her predecessor. It was during her most trying time as a woman in a dog-eat-dog world, and Elena had shown her the great compassion and kindness that seemed to shine through her body. No one ever found out this fact or the fulfilled prophecy that came almost two decades later.

Flashback

"She's a beautiful baby, ma'am. What are you going to name her?" The nurse handed the small bundle to Ilene's outstretched and weary arms.

Brushing the damp blonde fuzz from the baby's forehead, Ilene smiled.

"Her name's Serenity Belle Carrington, and she's the most beautiful baby in the world."

"It's a lovely name, ma'am. Now I'll be back with the birth certificate documents in a few moments. Nurse Johaneson will be around to take baby Serenity back to the nursery."

"Thank you, miss," Ilene said softly to the retreating nurse even as she caressed her baby's tender skin.

"So it's just you and me, Rene. When you get older, you might think you're name is a little bit silly, but that's okay, honey. I've had a rough life, but I know now that whenever I see you or call out your name, you'll just be the one thing in my life that won't mess up. I'm sorry that you won't ever get to know your father. I loved him very much. He was a very brave man caught up in bad circumstances, and I'm sure that if he was here, he'd love you just as much as I do. Daddy would be here with us, sweetheart, but instead he's watching over us in heaven and that'll have to be enough. Now Rene, we got some tough times ahead of us, but just don't ever give up hope. If we give up our hope then we'll have nothing left…"

Rene gurgled thoughtfully as her eyes remained shut.

"Those are wise words, miss. I'm sure everything will work out for you and your daughter when she has such a wise mother like you." A soft voice interrupted from the doorway.

Ilene looked up to see a woman a few years older than her standing serenely.

"Hello, please take a seat." Ilene nodded toward the open seat in the room while the other woman hesitantly moved forward.

"I didn't mean to intrude, miss. I was just passing through, and I saw you just sitting there so peacefully with your newborn. I have a son myself who's about five, and I can hardly get him to sit down for more than five minutes than to let me cuddle with him. But you know, how little boys are. He's adorable though. He says the cutest things, and… I'm sorry for rambling. Sometimes I just miss my family so much when I'm away." The woman looked down at her folded hands.

"Not at all…"

"Please call me Elena." The woman smiled shyly.

"Elena, I'm glad to have a visitor. I wasn't expecting anyone," Ilene said softly. Truth was, she didn't ever expect anyone to come see her. There was no one left, except for Rene.

"Well I've been volunteering here regularly for a few years now. It's not far from where I live, and I enjoy meeting the people here. I'm sorry to have eavesdropped on your conversation with your daughter and I know that you've just met me, but if you want to have someone to just listen…"

"Thank you, Elena. It's very kind of you, and it's weird, but I want to talk to you. Maybe it's the whole new mother thing, but I guess I'm just lonely."

Elena nodded solemnly before perking up.

"First, I'd like to know your name and you'll have to introduce me to your lovely daughter."

For the next hour or so even after Nurse Johaneson retrieved Rene from her mother's arms, the two women talked.

Ilene felt lighter as her story just poured out of her while Elena held her hand comfortingly. She talked about being in social services all the time because no foster families were available and how she met Kenneth Carrington, another case, at a young age. They became fast friends and promised each other that they'd always be there for each other. As Kenneth's high school graduation neared, he told Ilene that he was leaving for the Marine Corps. By this point in her life, she discovered that she couldn't see her future without him. A few nights before Ken left, they went out on one last trip to the dock together. Somehow by the end of the night years of pent-up thoughts and desire poured out of her, and she foolishly confessed to loving him. Kenneth had left without saying a word, and Ilene's heart broke. It wasn't until four years later when Kenneth showed up at her job as a supermarket cashier with a jacket heavy with medals and $10,000 dollars in his pocket.

Their life together was never dull or uninteresting. Ken swore to her that the only reason he left her that night without telling her that he felt the same way was that he was ashamed of wanting her love. He had felt undeserving of her and had vowed to make something out of himself before coming back to reclaim her. After a year of contentment, their reality changed as Ken was deployed to a top secret mission in the Middle East. Ilene then already two months pregnant kissed her husband goodbye as he left for Operation Desert Storm. While on her own, she continued to work as manager at the grocery store and taking night classes for a business administration degree. Four months later a man in uniform showed up at their bungalow in Oakley, CA and delivered Ken's personal effects. Her world collapsed.

After Kenneth's untimely death overseas, she was devastated. She never really had a real family other than Ken. No one to hold and to cherish until Rene came along.

"I never wanted to bring a child into the world under such sad circumstances. She doesn't deserve this." Ilene's cheeks were streaked with tears as Elena clutched her hand.

"I'm so blessed that you'd choose to share your pain with me. There's nothing that I can do to make it better, but if you ever need anything, anything at all, please just give me a call," Elena comforted.

"Thank you, Elena. You don't know what this means to me."

The image of Elena sitting by her side at her darkest hour stayed with Ilene even to her wedding night with George.

End Flashback

Her hands shook as she flipped the autopsy report shut. Rene would be home soon, and she would definitely notice that something was up if she didn't get her act together. She's already sensed too much from other day.

'Nothing is going to happen to Rene, not if my life depended on it,' Ilene thought as she exited the library.

Darien entered the mansion a little after 7. Stomach growling and extremely grouchy from a bumpy flight, he wandered into the kitchen in search of some food.

"Afternoon, young master Darien," Kelsey said reverently.

Nodding in acknowledgement, Darien dug around in the fridge hoping to escape Lita. If she found him pawing around in here, she'd probably have a fit. Lauren used to be the same way although she'd always feel guilty about yelling at a young Darien and give him some fresh treats in retribution. 'I really have been away too long…'

Warming up a heaping plate of seafood lasagna, Darien took a seat at the counter and sank his hands in his hair.

'Why can't things go the way they're supposed to? Right when I think the company's future's set, Damon goes and screws a minor and Matthew threatens me if I try to hurt my gold-digger stepfamily. Not to mention I can't get my mind off of my delicious step-sister…'

"What're you doin' in'ere?" Lita's shriek interrupted Darien's musings as she stormed to retrieve the dish from the microwave.

"I'm just feeding myself since somebody wasn't here to take care of me," Darien smirked as Lita reddened.

"I went t'tha market," she said nodding toward a few bags near the pantry, "Rene's bringin' n the rest."

As if on cue, Rene lugged two large paper bags tall enough to obscure her view. She bumped into a couple of walls before heaving them unto the floor. Nothing in her view now the breath heaved out of her lungs at the sight of Darien watching her darkly from his perch.

"You're back…" she said weakly, a thousand emotions behind her words.

Lita watched the awkward silence between the two and her eyebrows jumped in surprise. 'They ain't actin' like they hate each other. I cain't quite put my finga'on't but somethun's goin' on…' However, Darien's next words brought dread and perhaps hope to Lita's chest.

"Lita, in a few days a few friends will be arriving. I just wanted to you get the heads up, in case, you needed to prepare…" Darien's voice trailed as Lita's eyes blinked rapidly. The room was silent even as Rene wanted to reach out and support the woman who looked as if she were about to collapse. The implications of Darien's comment hung heavily in the room.

Shaking, Lita nodded numbly before stumbling towards the groceries.

"Thank ya fo' tha advance warning, Darien. I gotta get to makin' dinner, so if you don't mind, I'ma git to work now."

Rene laid a comforting hand on Lita's shoulder before exiting the room. Silently, Darien followed after her.

"Wait," he commanded from behind her quick footsteps. Although her pace slowed she refused to stop completely. The refuge of her room was only a few steps away…

Darien set the plate of lasagna down before quickly catching up to her in a few long strides. Grabbing her arm firmly he whipped her around to face him just as she neared her doorway.

Too confused to resist his hold, she hung her head limply refusing to look at him.

"What do you want with me?" Her soft and defeated voice caused a twinge of regret within his conscience and his loosened his grip as his thumb ran over her smooth skin caressingly. Surprisingly, she didn't pull away.

"I…" Darien's mind went blank. What did he want from her exactly? At first he had wanted to apologize for ignoring her in the kitchen, but when his hand first touched her and his senses picked up her intoxicating scent, all he wanted to do was to hold her to him.

"Well it seems that the all-powerful Darien Brady isn't…" Rene's mocking voice lowered to a chirp when his thumb and forefinger lightly tilted her chin up. Her eyes clouded when she studied his penetrating ocean gaze and watched those long ebony lashes shift.

"You don't want to finish that sentence," he said smoothly as he suddenly let her go. How close was he to kissing her senseless right in the middle of the hallway! Taking a deep breath and backing up a few feet, he finally trusted himself again.

To Darien, Rene looked positively indignant, furious, and so fucking gorgeous. Eyes flashing, lips opening and shutting as soundless curses escaped, and hands now firmly planted on her slim waist, she groaned in embarrassment before fleeing to her room.

'To think I almost let myself kiss him, that asshole! So he thinks he can just screw around with me whenever he feels like it and ignore me… oh, wait, I guess that was part of the arrangement to begin with… So if we don't really give a shit about each other, why did it hurt so much when he didn't even give me the time of day in the kitchen? I just hope he couldn't tell that he hurt me…'

Darien meanwhile was pacing the length of the hallway. 'Why does everything always blow up in my face when I'm trying so hard to get it right? Get a hold of yourself, man. She's emotional and female…I've dealt with plenty of those before, and stop telling yourself that she's something special. Sure, she's gorgeous, smart, and interesting, but that doesn't make her different… right. Rene Carrington is nothing special, and I need to treat her as such. After all, I am the master of the house, and she won't even be here much longer. Then everything will be perfect… but that doesn't stop me from having some fun with her. It's perfectly okay to be attracted to her just don't make her too special. I got this…'

'Maybe I do care about him. I mean, every time I see him, there's that little reaction in me that just makes me all giddy. It goes completely against my nature, but it doesn't stop me. And how about before he left? That note and that hot kiss… the man can kiss, I'll give him that, it's pretty much illegal! I bet he has a dozen girlfriends anyway… so why do I still want him? Oh right… he is the hottest man on Earth and he keeps on giving me the impression that there's something so beautiful and kind buried deep within him…deep, deep down within him,' Rene flipped herself on her bed. How many times has she thought of his kisses in the past day? He'd been gone for less than 48 hours, and it'd already felt like he's been gone a year.

'But she's so fucking attractive. I'm powerless around her. I had to literally control myself by clenching my fists every time I'm around her just so I don't reach out and touch her or something. Not that she'd complain, judging from previous responses… I bet she's a real firecracker in bed… Stop it, Darien! You're acting like a pimply-faced fifteen year old. Since when have you ever been so unconfident with yourself? I bet she's pining over you in her room, just waiting for you to go in there to ravage her senseless… the sheets tangling those long legs, her hair mussed…'

'But as much as I'm curious as to his feelings and emotions, I can't deny that I want him to kiss me again. Maybe that's why I keep on feeling guilty. Despite everything I tell myself, maybe the underlying truth is that I want him. I mean, who can blame me? Maybe what I really want is for him to be kissing him like that was the only thing that mattered…'

The next thing they knew, Rene had opened her bedroom door in a flourish only to discover Darien with his hand poised to knock. Rene burst into a bright red flush before Darien picked up his jaw from the floor.

"Uh… I was just coming out to check…do you…by chance… have a roll of toilet paper?" Rene asked stupidly before Darien genuinely smiled and pull her to him, capturing her lips in the process. They stumbled back into the room, slamming the door behind them. When they pulled away for air, Rene smiled shyly before replying, "I think this is good too."

In the hallway, Ilene stood with her mouth hanging open in shock with only one thought running through her head.

'Was this what Matthew meant?'


	8. Chapter 8

Rene moaned when he pushed her hard against the wall, her legs crossed, locking his lean hips against her. He swept kisses along her jaw before meeting her mouth again and again. The fire threatened to burn them alive as he ran a hand through a mass of tumbling gold. Her fingers entwined within his cobalt hair, urging him closer. When she felt the passion pooling in her stomach she followed her instincts by grinding her body into him.

Darien groaned into her earlobe, tickling her with the vibrations of his throat. They held onto each other even as he began haphazardly toward her bed. The journey was a bit painful but when her back sank against rich satin, Darien moved his attention to the silky column of her throat. Nibbling and sucking at the spot where her pulse quickened, his hands sank underneath her thin cotton shirt and made their way to...

Two knocks sounded on the door. Somewhat stupefied as well as pissed, the pair sat up abruptly and looked at the door.

"Oh shit!" Rene hissed as she pushed Darien, who was already swearing quietly, off of her.

Pointing at the bathroom door adjoining his room, he trudged quickly albeit angrily away. Rene looked briefly into the mirror and rearranged herself before opening the door.

"Mom, what's up?" she asked stupidly as Rene prayed to the heavens that Ilene didn't see her and Darien enter nor noticed her swollen lips, mussed hair, and glazed eyes.

"I was just wondering if you had come back from the market is all, dear. Why are you all flushed?" Ilene looked worriedly at her daughter.

"I…I was tired out by lugging those heavy groceries all day, and I think I might be dehydrated…my face has been red all day…sunburned." Rene wanted to shrink into a ball and die. 'I really need to work on this whole lying thing.'

"Oh I understand completely, Rene. Drink plenty of water. I'll see you for dinner soon and perhaps we can take our walk afterwards." Ilene wasn't fooled by her daughter's pathetic lies. 'Rene never could lie…' But she was awfully curious as to what Darien had been trying to pull.

"Of course. I'll see you at dinner," Rene said as she managed a bright smile. Closing the door and leaning her back against it, she took a deep breath. 'Did mama know? My lie sucked plus she could probably tell from the way I look. After all, mom wasn't born yesterday…'

Darien reentered Rene's room after hearing her conversation with Ilene. He had been hard pressed to keep from laughing out loud. When he approached her at the door, he swept her into his arms and raised an eyebrow at her.

"You know you're the worst liar alive, right?"

Flushing and smacking him on his arm, she scowled. In response, he gave her a smacking kiss that left her a bit breathless.

'A little bit longer,' she thought silently as they swayed in the light of dusk within her room. 'Just let me pretend that I'm more than a conquest and revenge to him for a little bit longer.'

Pacing back and forth within the confines of the library again, Ilene was close to panicking. Rene was disheveled and blushing when she answered the door. Ilene was no fool, and neither was Darien. 'Was he trying to use Rene? Was Matthew telling the truth about him?'

Ilene had wondered in the past if meeting George, allowing him to court her, and eventually marrying George had been a repayment to the kindness Elena showed her. Elena's death hit George as hard as Ken's death hurt her although both have learned to live on. Now she was alone again, and Matthew, a man she had always feared, warns her that the one person she had left could be taken away from her.

To say that dinner was awkward would be understating the whole situation. Ilene ate quietly even as Rene tried to make small talk with those at the table. Lita sat pensively, barely touching her own fare. And Darien's eyes always trailed back to Rene. Ilene's maternal instinct kicked in when she noted her daughter's behavior around the man. She was clearly besotted with him, and Ilene couldn't really blame her. Darien Brady certainly inherited a handful of handsome genes but that only made him more dangerous.

Ilene felt immensely tired about the meal. The oppressive air of foreboding hung heavily in the air yet she couldn't bring herself to take a walk with Rene as promised. She knew that if she were alone with her daughter right now, she wouldn't be able to control her questions. 'No, I need some time to sort out my own thoughts before approaching her. The last thing I want to do is to drive her closer to Darien…'

So she sat in the library, one of George's favorite rooms, and she flipped listlessly through the autopsy report again. "I shouldn't believe Matthew!" she muttered to herself repeatedly as facts and figures spread out before her eyes.

But what if it was true? The report showed there to be no sign of foul play, but Darien would be smart enough to kill his father in a more sinister way. Poison perhaps? The report showed nothing on toxicology… And the scene in the hallway already roused her suspicions not to mention anger. There was a high likelihood that Darien will hurt Rene regardless. She managed to stop them this time, but what about in the future?

Suddenly a particular name stood out in the report. It was the first name that caught her eye. It surprised her simply because she had never expected to see it there. When she reread the content surrounding it, she blinked. What a coincidence! Could this be a clue pointing to murder? Shaking her head, she dismissed her thoughts. She was being ridiculous. She smiled wistfully at the dusky sky outside. Maybe a walk alone wouldn't be such a bad idea right now.

'George would practically drag me to go on a walk with him in this weather.' She smiled and decided to head downstairs. 'Besides I need to clear my head, there are too many conspiracy theories crowding my mind right now.'

"Kels, I'm going out for a walk! Is Rene still here?" She asked the housekeeper.

"Enjoy yourself, ma'am. Rene left a few minutes ago," Kelsey replied.

Ilene almost froze. "She left by herself?" She asked worriedly.

"No ma'am. She left wit Lita for a walk, maybe you can catch up t'em," Kelsey answered.

"And Darien? Is he still here?"

"I believe he left a while ago too, but he took th' car…"

Ilene nodded, pacified. She waved briefly. "See you soon."

Kelsey was ecstatic the woman would finally be able to crack a smile. 'Mourning in that manner ain't no good for a person's health,' she thought.

She walked to the stables with a grin on her face. She felt peaceful all of a sudden. The warm air hugged her as she dismissed Matthew's ill-willed warnings from her mind. George died from natural causes, and he was in a better place. She was just being silly about Darien. He was a young man who has been a lot of pain… he loved his father too much to kill him. Before she completely reached the stables, she saw a familiar figure approaching her.

"What a pleasant surprise!" Ilene answered with immense pleasure.

"Hello Ilene."

"Care to join me on my walk?" She smiled when they began walking in sync.

"It's a beautiful day."

"Indeed. I decided to come out and get some fresh air. George would have adored today."

"He has always enjoyed dusk."

"I miss him immensely. I'm sure he's felt the same way when Elena died."

"Yes, I remember that. I came to see her during that time. She didn't have long even then."

"I don't know what I'd do if I was you. Dealing with that all the time…" Ilene's mind suddenly reverted back to the moment in the study when she had seen that name in the autopsy report. 'Perhaps I can get information about George's state of health. After all, what's the harm in that?'

"It does get hard. Especially when it's someone you've come to care for a long time."

"Now I don't mean to intrude, but how was George physically? Was he healthy?"

The figure turned to her and smiled sweetly as they momentarily stopped their ambling.

"I suppose you've gone over the autopsy report."

"Yes…I was just tying up loose ends I suppose."

"And you saw my name on it?"

"It was in it. I just thought it was odd that it'd be there…" Ilene suddenly felt very anxious. They were in one of the paths bordering the corn fields. She looked back to the person in front of her. 'Don't be foolish. It'd be impossible.'

"Well, what do you think?" The voice asked easily as if asking for opinion on a homemade soup.

"Think? I was just wondering about…" Ilene let out a gasp of pain as the figure jabbed a needle into her neck.

"Ilene, you've probed too hard. I didn't want to do this, but you've left me no choice."

"Rene…I love my girl…Rene…"

"She's next unless you tell me where you put the report."

"Study…Rene…" within the next five seconds Ilene collapsed to the ground and twitched sporadically.

The figure glanced at Ilene's wristwatch. It was almost time for the farmer to come make his rounds on the perimeter of his field. He would find the late Mrs. Ilene Brady still warm to the touch.

"Lita, are you okay?" Rene asked quietly as they walked among the flora and fauna of the gardens.

"Fine," she replied curtly before retreating within her thoughts.

"This must be so awkward for you. I can't believe Darien is going to do this to you…"

"The bastard," Lita cursed.

"But maybe he wants something other than to make your life a living hell. Maybe he wants what I want: for you and Nathan to be happy, together."

"Haven't chya been listen' t'me. We can't ever be happy t'gether! He made a choice years ago, n' he's gonna choose agin, and it won't be me," Lita spat angrily.

"But you two never had a chance for it to come out. Neither of you have closure from the relationship. Won't you think you'll be happier just to know exactly how he's felt even if it means walking away from him a free woman?"

"What if I don't wanna walk away? What if I wanna love 'im even if it means nev'r movin' on?" Lita whispered.

"Why do you think he's coming, Lita? I think he wants to know why you left him years ago without a backward glance. I think he was heartbroken that you never trusted him enough to make his own decisions…you left him, Lita. You made that decision," Rene baited. She knew Lita could blow up at her at any moment, but it was better than letting her keep it pent-up like at dinner.

"He would've don'it 'imself. I didn't wanna be the one who begg'd 'im," Lita insisted, her eyes fiery as she speared Rene with a glare.

"You were selfish. You wanted to protect your own heart so you decided to break his first. Who cares right? He probably won't even remember you!"

"How dare you say tha t'me? He loved me, I know tha he did!" Lita spoke with quiet fury and determination.

"Then why did you leave him?"

"I…" Lita stuttered.

"When he's asks you that question, what are you going to say, Lita?"

"I…" Lita said again.

"You what?" Rene persisted, determined to get Lita to see the blazing truth.

"I wish I could take it all back." The anger and hurt finally left her body in a gentle sigh.

"It's not too late, Lita. For you, it's not too late. This is Nathan's gift to you," Rene murmured as she led a shivering Lita to a stone bench. Together they watched the sunset in the distance, its rays glowing bloody red before disappearing into the horizon, drenching the earth with its last breath of life.

The blare of police lights welcomed Rene and Lita's return. Confused they entered the house where Kelsey and an assorted collection of people gathered around a sheriff. Many were crying.

"What's going on?" Rene asked one of the nearby cops who redirected her to the sheriff. Lita gripped her hand as Sheriff Jones told her the news.

"I'm real sorry, Rene. Your mother died of heart failure tonight outside Farmer Johansson's fields."

"No…It couldn't be! NO!" Rene said vehemently as eyes turned on her with pity and sorrow in them.

"I saw her not even two hours ago! Where is she? Tell me this is a joke! I don't believe you. Mama! Mama! This isn't funny! Where are you?" She cried in anguish as a gaping Lita stood by her side.

Somehow she found herself in Darien's arms. His arms held her to him as she sobbed while he barked out orders for information. When the Sheriff told him the news, Darien muttered a loud curse.

"Look I know you're going to want statements from us, but she's in shock. As the surviving relative, I'm going to try and calm her down." Jones eyed him suspiciously before nodding his head.

"Don't go far, Brady. You're under investigation as well."

"Innocent until proven guilty and I wouldn't think of it. Now if you'll excuse us," Darien said as he swung his arm under Rene's legs and easily picked her up. He comforted her with soft whispers in her ear as he climbed the stairs to their rooms.

Depositing her gently on her bed, he sat with her until she fell asleep from the exhaustion and sorrow. It was only then did he allow himself to leave her side and return to the chaos below.

"What d'ya mean heart failure!" Kelsey sobbed loudly. "She was fine n' dandy not mor'en two hours ago!"

"Ma'am, sometimes these things happen. Couples dying around the same time…I've seen it many times," a deputy added which only caused the woman to cry louder.

"She died of a broken heart! Oh, the world's too cruel!"

Lita was busy getting the details out of the Sheriff who in turn was busy deriving a statement from the brunette.

A few other maids were whispering among themselves… "There's a curse…I'd say foul play…Something's fishy all right…Could it have been suicide...Wonder if Rene will stay…Wouldn't that be convenient for Darien…They were pretty cozy going up those stairs…Surviving relative my ass…Makes one wonder if Master Brady's death was as natural as it seemed…What is the world coming to?"

Darien found the sheriff and Lita rallying questions like a tennis match. From Lita's threatening tone, the sheriff managed to croak out a few details concerning Ilene's body's whereabouts before interjecting that the whole thing was under investigation. Cutting in, he asked where he could give his statement. He was redirected to another sterner-looking man who Jones introduced as Deputy Brock, 'More like Deputy Rock,' Darien thought. The next half hour was a blur as he was beat and bruised by the criminal justice system.

To be honest, the situation wasn't looking good for him. He was a suspect that much was obvious. When he told Deputy Rock that he had been driving around after dinner was almost a blind admission of guilt. There were no witnesses to back up his alibi, and he certainly had a motive in the eyes of the law. This also told Darien that they were suspicious of Ilene's death. If they pronounced it plain heart failure, they wouldn't have questioned him with such depth and suspicion.

Why had he been driving around? He wasn't quite sure of the answer himself only that he had to get away from Rene before doing or saying something that he'd regret. The girl was a little too much for him. He couldn't think, couldn't rationalize around her! His two most valuable character traits went down the drain the second he laid eyes on her…

During dinner, he felt her foot accidentally brush against his leg setting his body on fire. Earlier in her room, he tasted the perfume of her skin. When he closed his eyes, he could feel her soft hands on his slightly rough cheeks. And just a few moments ago, he had held her trembling form in his arms, his heart breaking for her. They were both orphans now…

'How did Ilene die? How could she just die like that?' He didn't believe heart failure for a hot second when he saw the glare in the sheriff's eyes. Now it made him rethink the whole situation. 'Could Dad have been murdered?'

Too tired to keep awake any longer, he trotted upstairs to check on Rene, who was tossing about on the bed. Calming her down by clamping her clammy hands within his, he fell into a restless sleep on the 19th century chaise in her room.


End file.
